Nintendo Switch 2’s gameless Game-Key cards are going to be very common
US preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 console went live at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart at midnight Eastern time last night (though the rush of orders caused problems and delays across all three retailers' websites). The console listings came with a wave of other retail listings for games and accessories, and those listings either fill small gaps in our knowledge about Switch 2 game packaging and pricing or confirm facts that were previously implied.
First, $80 Switch 2 games like Mario Kart World will not cost $90 as physical releases. This is worth repeating over and over again because of how pernicious the rumors about $90 physical releases have been; as recently as this morning, typing "Switch 2 $90" into Google would show you videos, Reddit threads, news posts, and even Google's own AI summaries all confidently and incorrectly proclaiming that physical Switch 2 releases will cost $90 when they actually won't.
Google's AI-generated search summary about $90 Switch 2 games as of this morning. Credit: Andrew CunninghamWhile physical game releases in the EU sometimes cost more than their digital counterparts, there was actually no indication that US releases of physical games would cost $90. The Mario Kart World website listed an $80 MSRP from the start, as did early retail listings that were published before preorders actually began, and this price didn't change when Nintendo increased accessory pricing in response to import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.