The physical edition of the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Ubisoft’s action role-playing game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, will apparently come with a download-only game-key card.
French retailer Auchan (via Wario64 on Twitter/X) has posted a product listing for the physical edition of the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, revealing that it will come with a game-key card. As seen below, the case prominently states, “Game key card – Downloading the full software via the internet is required. See back for more details.”
Nintendo Switch 2 owners looking to purchase the physical edition of Assassin’s Creed Shadows will likely not be happy with the inclusion of a game-key card instead of a standard cartridge that contains all of the game files. However, it’s worth remembering that the game has a file size of over 100 GB across, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. As of now, the largest sized cartridge available for the Nintendo Switch 2 has a capacity of 64 GB, which isn’t enough to fit all of the game’s content.
The physical edition of Ubisoft’s other recent Nintendo Switch 2 title, Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars Outlaws, also comes with a game-key card. According to Rob Bantin, audio architect on the Snowdrop engine, the decision came down to hardware limitations rather than cost-cutting measures. “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,” he stated on social media.
Bantin further explained that the game had originally been built around SSD-equipped platforms like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Since the Switch 2’s physical cards could not keep up with the engine’s heavy streaming requirements, Ubisoft opted for the game-key card, which allows the title to run from the console’s faster internal storage instead.
