Switch 2 cartridges only go up to 64GB in storage

While the Switch 2 has been met with a ton of hype, many decisions made by Nintendo have also given long-time fans some pause. Despite costing up to $80 for a physical copy, Switch 2 game cartridges can only hold up to a maximum of 64GB of data.

Following the official Switch 2 Direct, many Nintendo-focused YouTubers and other publications were given the opportunity to get their hands on the system ahead of its June launch.

In talking to a CDPR rep for the Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077, Nintendo YouTuber BeatEmUps received confirmation that just like Switch 1, the maximum cartridge size available for devs to use is just 64GB.

While this was not necessarily as big of an issue back then, a new generation of Nintendo hardware will undoubtedly require larger game sizes – for improved texture resolution if nothing else.

That said, of the Switch 2 games detailed so far, it seems none will surpass that 64GB limit – for now at least. Based on preliminary data from the Japanese Nintendo Store (collated by ResetEra user Atheerios), the biggest first-party title so far will be Mario Kart World – taking up 23.4GB. Donkey Kong Bananza meanwhile will be just 10GB. Following this is Super Mario Jamboree Switch 2 Edition at 7.7 GB. Last but also least, the GameCube Nintendo Classics currently take up just 3.5GB.

As we saw with the OG Switch however, most first-party Nintendo titles manage to stay relatively light size-wise. Just how much data the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 will require is unknown, but given the fact that the PS5 version is around 90GB, CDPR will need to do quite a bit of optimisation if they want to get the full game (and its expansion) onto a single cart with no extra downloads.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of the Switch 2’s cart situation? Should they have gone for bigger sizes? Has Nintendo removed almost all benefits of physical media with Switch 2? Let us know down below.

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