When Ubisoft launched Star Wars Outlaws on September 4, 2025, many assumed its physical Switch 2 release on a Game-Key Card was a cost-saving move. After all, Nintendo only offers third parties up to 64GB cartridges. But according to Ubisoft’s own developers, price had little to do with the decision.

Ubisoft explains the Star Wars Outlaws Game-Key Card release

Rob Bantin, audio architect for Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, shared details on Bluesky. He explained that the Star Wars Outlaws Game-Key Card release was chosen for technical reasons. Snowdrop depends heavily on disk streaming to render its open world. The Switch 2 cartridges didn’t provide the speed needed. That gap made it impossible for Ubisoft to hit its quality target.

He added that if the game had been built specifically for Switch 2, the team might have worked around the limitation. But because Outlaws was originally designed for platforms with SSDs, leadership opted for the Game-Key Card instead.

Industry reaction to Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws decision

Digital Foundry’s John Linneman backed Ubisoft’s reasoning, noting that to match the performance of other consoles, developers need SSD-like storage. He pointed out that while flash memory for older Switch cartridges has become cheaper, the high-speed storage needed here hasn’t followed the same trend. Even so, he mentioned that regular carts still cost about $23 each to manufacture.

Game-Key Cards may stick around for Switch 2

The case of Star Wars Outlaws Game-Key Card doesn’t mean every Switch 2 release will take the same route. Some studios will likely still weigh cost, while others may look at performance requirements. What’s clear is that the format has carved out a place in Nintendo’s second-gen hardware cycle.

Whether players love or hate the change, the move shows how modern open-world games are pushing Switch 2 developers toward new compromises. In Ubisoft’s case, the Force guided them straight to Game-Key Cards.