A French retailer has all but confirmed Assassin’s Creed Shadows is indeed coming to Nintendo Switch 2, and it looks like it’ll be another controversial Game-Key Card game.
While rumors of the port have been swirling around ever since PEGI rated the adventure game for its console back in April, this is the first time we’ve seen a retailer share Assassin’s Creed Shadow box art, and news players will be able to “experience Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a whole new way with Nintendo Switch 2.”
As noted by the eagle-eyed members of the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, however, the key art used in the new retail listing also suggests the game will come as a Game-Key Card. This means that unlike, say, Cyberpunk 2077, which is fully contained on a 64GB cartridge on Switch 2, players will instead have to download part or all of a game before they can play.
It’ll likely divide fans who continue to debate the practice of publishers providing Game-Key Cards in Switch 2 boxed games instead of a physical cartridge. It’s proven to be a divisive practice among some, not least because while it allows collectors to have a game’s box on their shelf, they’re essentially useless unless your console is connected to the internet.
Nintendo recently launched a survey designed to poll the Switch 2 userbase on its thoughts surrounding digital and physical games, with questions designed to probe the reasons you might consider one option over another. Nintendo’s also interested in finding out if your attitude to digital downloads has shifted over time.
In September, a Ubisoft developer who worked on the Nintendo port of Star Wars Outlaws defended the use of Game-Key Cards, saying the real reason why the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws uses a Game-Key Card was due to the Switch 2’s data speeds, and how quickly the hardware can read information from its bespoke cartridges, versus games downloaded to the console’s internal memory.
Later in September, Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi implied that developers are choosing Game-Key Cards not necessarily from a cost perspective, but a performance one, as the format enables them to bring smoother-running games to the Switch 2.
If you missed Assassin’s Creed Shadows the first time around, now may be a good time to try it out. Released back in March, it returned 8/10 in the IGN review.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
