Smaller, Cheaper Cartridges Might Be Coming To The Switch 2

Smaller, cheaper-to-produce game cartridges could soon be landing on the Switch 2, if one game publisher’s now-deleted tweet is true.

Earlier this week, Ars Technica spotted that retro and arcade game publisher ININ Games said in a post on X: “Two days ago Nintendo announced two new smaller cartridge sizes for Nintendo Switch 2.” The indie publisher said it was now able to “recalculate production” on the physical version of its upcoming game R-Type Dimensions III for the Switch 2 as a result of the new cartridge sizes. ININ later scrubbed the claim from its social media, posting later that day that there had been “no official announcement or confirmation from Nintendo concerning future cartridge storage capacities.”

Nintendo has yet to officially comment on the rumors.

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At present, the Switch only offers complete physical games via cartridges with up to 64GB of storage, which makes sense for expansive open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but may be an unnecessary amount of storage for the type of retro games pushed out by indie publishers like ININ. Otherwise, gamers are forced to use Game-Key Cards—physical cartridges that don’t contain the full game and sometimes still require lengthy downloads—and take up the Switch 2’s limited internal storage space.

It’s never been officially announced how much a Switch cartridge costs to make. However, Ars estimates based on the information ININ shared that smaller cartridge options could cost publishers $5 to $10 less per unit than the older, higher-capacity cartridges, which could certainly move the needle for developers interested in physical releases for smaller games.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumours circulating about smaller Switch cartridges. Several Nintendo accounts on social media posted similar rumours several days before ININ’s post.

In addition, The Verge points to how some industry analysts have said RAM memory costs could be going up even more soon, giving Nintendo greater incentive to roll out smaller, cheaper cartridges. After already exploding earlier this year, RAM costs could go even higher due to high demand from AI projects, according to analysts like TrendForce.

I can confirm that smaller capacity Switch 2 game cards are in production but due to chip shortages it will take time before we see widespread availability

Despite the smaller capacity, these cards will still be expensive due to rising cost of materials

Game-Key Cards are not going away

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— Nintendeal (@nintendeal.com) Dec 17, 2025 at 10:12 PM