Star Wars Outlaws Switch 2 uses download key, sparks GameKey debate

Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws arrived on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 4, 2025, in a format that has reignited debate over the console’s GameKey Card system: the physical cartridge contains only a digital download key, not the game itself, and Ubisoft says it was necessary because the cartridges do not deliver the streaming performance the title requires. Rob Bantin, audio architect on Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, wrote on the social network Bluesky that 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.”

GameKey Cards, introduced with the Switch 2, have become common among third party publishers but unpopular with some players because they offer no offline, archival copy of a game. Critics point to past digital storefront closures, including Nintendo’s 3DS and Wii U shops, as precedents that left purchases inaccessible, and Japan’s National Diet Library has confirmed it will not be archiving GameKey Cards. Fans worry that if Nintendo’s eShop or license servers are shut down in the future, the cartridges will be reduced to plastic tokens.