UPDATE Sept 2026:

Just a little update on this topic, it seems like Nintendo has finally started offering lower card size options.

Stellar Blade has confirmed that 32GB cards are now available for third parties.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Stellar-Blade-using-32-GB-Switch-2-cartridge-may-be-good-news-for-physical-game-fans.1397898.0.html

Note that this was already leaked by a third party on December last year, with a posibility of 16GB too, although it was later retracted
https://nintendoeverything.com/publisher-claims-nintendo-is-now-offering-smaller-card-sizes-for-switch-2-which-could-mean-less-game-key-cards/

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ORIGINAL OP May 2025:

The single 64GB has been allegedly confirmed. Currently, three game format options are available:

• [DL] Download Code
• [POTION] Game Key Card
• [64GB] Game Card.

Source: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/507478-nintendo-switch-2/80980788
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1kjlnsf/arc_system_works_leaks_allegedly_confirm_nintendo/

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You can also see it confirmed here: https://marvelousgames.com/news/rune-factory-guardians-of-azuma-nintendo-switch-2-faq
Rune Factory is a 18GB game that is being released on a 64GB card, so there is no 32GB option.

Strange, as the Switch did have a range of sizes for its cartridges. There could be reasons for this due to limited production or game sizes nowadays... they are certainly pushing us towards digital.

What do you think is going on?

EDIT: Spelling fixes

This explains why so many devs are moving to game keys... Still I think all big publishers like SE should be able to bite that bullet.

An unfortunate situation but a reality of catridges. Could a solution not be found where the game is in fact fully present on a cheap high storage catridge but needs to be played/transferred to the systems internal memory? Realistically though I think 99% of their audience is completely fine with the game key method.

I would imagine it's tied to the high bandwidth needs of the new carts. I'd imagine different sizes will be made available sometime in the future. How long it'll take nintendo though is anyone's guess.

Smaller size chips that are fast enough are being made in much smaller quantities than in 2017. Maybe smaller ones are simply not economical anymore these days.

I mean, try even to find a new SD card or USB stick with less than 64GB...

Stupid idea. This will impact the amount of games that will be released physically.

If true - because there's no real confirmation here - the reason for one standardized size would be cost reductions in manufacturing while accounting for lots of third party games going beyond or about to go beyond 32 GB.

What we can confirm is that these 64 GB cards are not too expensive for third parties, because a small publisher like Marvelous can go ahead with them. Additionally, CD Projekt is proving that massive games can be put on such cards with proper compression. Put these two facts together and it's clear that a lot of other publishers are engaging in anti-consumer behavior for no other sake than the hope for higher profits. I call it hope, because using game-key cards will predictably make them lose a lot of sales, which likely leaves them with less profit overall than if they had used a game card.

And then we have a third fact which is that the publishers who are opting for game-key cards usually have a history of download-only or partial downloads being required on Switch 1 already. They are simply continuing with what they've already been doing, and just like there have been gamers rushing to their defense on Switch 1 to put blame on Nintendo despite contradictory facts, there will be gamers rushing to their defense this time around too. So what's going on is more of the same thing that has been going on since 2017.

I suppose the idea was to make it scale up in production and become cheaper eventually, but the result will probably be game key cards ahoy for a generation.

Almost no developer wants to be the one selling their games with a $15-20 physical media cost first unless they can charge more or think it'll increase their sales enough to make up for it.

Digital will become more important than ever and it should, really. A portable has no business being encumbered by physical media in this day and age.

This is what Playstation 5 does, the discs are pretty cheap so to make use of the very fast loading times you transfer the game to internal storage. I'd choose this method over game key cards, however this would also make console manufacturing more expensive since Switch 2 has only 256 internal storage you'd need more storage out of the box 

I'm growing both concerned and disinterested in the Switch 2 by the day. The increased prices, the restrictions on physical media on the Switch 2, the recent TOS changes that allow Nintendo to brick your console (which I'm sure it will be blocked immediately by the EU if they ever start applying it)... Unless they begin turning things around, I'll seriously consider not getting the Switch 2 at all. There are definitely enough games around for my Switch to last me for a long time, and there's always Steam (I'm growing interested on the SteamDeck by the day).

Having to save everything to local storage instead of having physical cards is way more of an encumbrance than hauling around 1 square inch of plastic per game.