In the latest report from market research firm Circana, sales of Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key Card releases have supposedly increased 631% in the US in 2026. This is likely due to the success of Pokémon Pokopia and the recently released Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, both of which are available on the format. While third-party games had reportedly not done well last year, 2026 apparently has shifted favor with fans for Game-Key Card titles.
Circana reports that 2026 year-to-date spending on new physical software has increased around 5% from 2026. As you would imagine, the biggest driving factor was Game-Key Card titles, which sold enough to offset a 3% drop in other formats. Nintendo Everything notes how there are simply more game-key card titles in 2026 than 2025, so it was inevitable that sales of them would increase. Seeing the number skyrocket, though, seems to indicate that the general customer doesn’t care about how the game is distributed as long as it is available in a “physical” manner.
While I don’t care for Game-Key Cards as much as traditional physical media, I still think they’re a better alternative to code-in-a-box releases. At least you can resell a Game-Key Card if you want, meaning you aren’t shelling out full price for a download that you then have to keep, even if “reasonable consumers” knows they don’t actually own digital games. I suppose it’s possible for Nintendo to create some alternative in the future to allow third-parties faster access speeds. Only time will tell.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
