Bethesda has trumpeted the news that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be squeezed onto a proper Switch 2 Game Card for its physical release — though other titles coming to the console will just be codes in a box.
During today’s Partner Direct broadcast focusing on upcoming games coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Bethesda boss Todd Howard briefly appeared to welcome a swathe of games coming to Nintendo’s newest console.
In a press release sent to IGN following the broadcast, Bethesda has now detailed its launch plans further, and announced on social media that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would get a full-fat cartridge launch, rather than on one of Nintendo’s widely-disliked Game-Key Cards.
And yes, the game is on Game Card.#IndianaJones https://t.co/jJ0cTDKLLL
— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 5, 2026
Bethesda’s social post has received a string of praise, with many fans wondering how the game has been made to fit onto a Switch 2 cartridge. “Wow, totally unexpected,” wrote Digital Foundry veteran and game preservation fan John Linneman in response.
Late last year, one Switch 2 developer initially suggested that Nintendo was preparing to make more sizes of Game Cartridge available for manufacturers to ship titles on, rather than relying on Game-Key cards. However, the developer then scrubbed most of this information from the internet, and implied it was unable to announce anything that Nintendo itself had not confirmed officially.
Bethesda’s other three titles getting physical launches on Switch 2 this year will not be on Game Cartridges, or even Game-Key cards. Instead, Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will all have physical editions that are “code-in-a-box,” Bethesda has said.
Of course, all of these games will be available via digital download too, via the Switch 2’s eShop.
As announced (and leaked) earlier today, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch digitally and physically on May 12. The game’s DLC, The Order of Giants, will also be available download separately on that date.
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition launches digitally on February 24 and physically on April 28. Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available digitally already, and will come in a box on April 28. Finally, Oblivion Remastered has a vague “2026” launch window for now.
For much more, here’s everything else announced in today’s Nintendo Partner Direct.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
