The use of Switch 2’s widely-disliked Game-Key Cards was defended by a Ubisoft developer who worked on the Nintendo port of Star Wars Outlaws.
Writing on social media, Ubisoft audio architect Rob Bantin shared the real reason why the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws uses a Game-Key Card — a physical cartridge that requires owners still download the game, rather than including the full thing on the cart.
The answer? It’s all due to the Switch 2’s data speeds, and how quickly the hardware can read information from its bespoke cartridges, versus games downloaded to the console’s internal memory.
“[Star Wars Outlaws game engine] 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,” Bantin wrote.
The information has come as a surprise to some Nintendo fans who have previously grumbled over the use of Game-Key Cards, which are cheaper and therefore increasingly popular among developers of larger games which would otherwise require more costly cartridges with increased memory capacity.
“I don’t recall the cost of the cards ever entering the discussion – probably because it was moot,” Bantin continued.
While not a comprehensive reason for all developers to use Game-Key Cards, Bantin went on to explain that it was important for Ubisoft and its Snowdrop development team, especially as Outlaws was originally developed for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S — console platforms that had faster SSD memory on board.
“I think if we’d designed a game for Switch 2 from the ground up it might have been different,” Bantin said. “As it was, we’d build a game around the SSDs of the initial target platforms, and then the Switch 2 came along a while later. In this case I think our leadership made the right call.”
Last month, Nintendo launched a fresh fan survey that quizzed Switch 2 owners for their opinions on buying digital games instead of boxed copies, and specifically asked for feedback on Game-Key Cards, following their less-than-stellar initial reception among fans who prefer their physical games to include… well, the full game.
First released last year to a mixed response and lackluster sales, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot recently blamed Star Wars Outlaws disappointing sales performance on the “choppy waters” of the sci-fi saga’s own fandom.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
