Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 to release as a Game-Key Card due to storage speed, not cost — developer

A Ubisoft developer has clarified why the physical Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Star Wars Outlaws is being released as a Game-Key Card rather than a full game cartridge.

Game-Key Cards are Nintendo’s new format where the cartridge doesn’t actually contain the game data, but instead acts as a key to download the title from the Switch 2 online store. This approach has drawn criticism from players who worry about long-term access if Nintendo ever shuts down the servers.

Snowdrop relies heavily on disk streaming for its open world environments, and we found the Switch 2 cards simply didn’t give the performance we needed at the quality target we were going for. I don’t recall the cost of the cards ever entering the discussion – probably because it was moot.— Rob Bantin 🇸🇪🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 (@cubusaddendum.bsky.social) 4 сентября 2025 г. в 21:51

While some believe publishers are choosing this format to cut costs, Ubisoft’s Rob Bantin, audio architect for the Snowdrop engine powering Outlaws, says the real issue was cartridge speed. Even though Switch 2 cartridges are faster than those on the original console, they still lag behind the system’s internal storage and MicroSD Express cards, which are crucial for performance.

Bantin explained that since Snowdrop relies heavily on disk streaming for open-world environments, Ubisoft had to ensure the game ran from internal storage. “The Switch 2 cards simply didn’t give the performance we needed at the quality target we were going for,” he noted, adding that cartridge cost never factored into the decision.

He also admitted that had Outlaws been designed for Switch 2 from the start, the outcome might have been different. Instead, the game was initially built for platforms with SSDs, making the Game-Key approach the most practical choice.

When asked if this was a flaw in Nintendo’s design, Bantin defended the company, highlighting the trade-offs required for making a handheld that balances power and affordability: “The Switch 2 is a miraculous piece of kit in most respects.”

Despite earlier concerns about performance, recent footage — including Digital Foundry’s analysis — has praised the Switch 2 port of Star Wars Outlaws as “insanely impressive” for the hardware.