There’s a Lot of Math You’ll Need to Do Before You Buy a Switch 2

Nintendo made a large woody retired of however the Switch 2’s retention capacity is 8 times that of the original Switch. Still, 256GB is simply a paltry fig compared to the ballooning size of astir third-party games that look designed to gobble up immense chunks of your console’s storage.

Unlike the archetypal $300 Switch that Nintendo released successful 2017, the $450 Switch 2 costs astir arsenic overmuch arsenic a PS5 oregon Xbox Series X. That’s not adjacent including the impending $70 oregon $80 crippled prices and expensive accessories. The pricey full outgo to commencement means the Switch 2 isn’t simply a secondary strategy you whitethorn particulate disconnected to play Mario Kart oregon Super Smash Bros. erstwhile friends travel over. If you program connected the Switch 2 being your main gaming machine, you should astir apt mathematics retired precisely what games you have, and past inquire however overmuch you’re consenting to walk connected further retention options.

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First, Nintendo’s specs page for the Switch 2 clarifies that immoderate information of the built-in retention is allocated to the system’s operating strategy software, including its settings and menus. The archetypal Switch’s 32GB retention meant users really lone had 26GB disposable for games. We don’t cognize whether the Switch 2 OS and firmware—which look akin to the archetypal Switch—will instrumentality up much space, but expect your 256GB of retention to beryllium person to oregon little than 250GB.

© Nintendo

Then, you person to see the size of games. While astir of Nintendo’s first-party games volition acceptable connected carnal Switch 2 crippled cards—which volition prevention connected immoderate retention space—that won’t beryllium the lawsuit for respective third-party titles. Mario Kart World takes up conscionable nether 24GB, while Donkey Kong Bananza squeaks successful with astir 10GB. However, carnal crippled cards don’t relationship for inevitable updates and crippled saves that volition devour into interior storage. Otherwise, Nintendo present offers game-key cards, which are fundamentally conscionable integer codes to download a crippled from Nintendo’s eShop. The lone hassling portion is that you inactive request the carnal cartridge inserted into the strategy to play the crippled if a steadfast goes the game-key paper route.

The crushed wherefore immoderate games are connected cards and others are integer download-only seems to travel down to publishers’ preference. For example, Best Buy lists the carnal mentation for the much-hyped Switch 2 mentation of Cyberpunk 2077 as coming connected a “64GB crippled card.” In an interrogation with Game File, CD Projekt Red technologist Tim Green said, “the carnal mentation is each played from the crippled card.” The caveat determination is that the crippled volition people 1080p solution connected TVs successful “quality” mode, though it’s besides making usage of Nvidia’s AI upscaler DLSS—which transforms a lower-resolution representation to a higher quality—to deed that performance.

Not each publishers are stamping their full games onto a crippled paper adjacent if they lone instrumentality up 64GB oregon less. Hitman World of Assassination (61GB), Street Fighter VI (48GB), and Yakuza 0 (54GB) are confirmed to travel connected game-key cards. There’s a elemental mentation why: game-key cards, which again conscionable download a integer transcript to the Switch 2, are cheaper due to the fact that they don’t request to incorporate existent flash retention chips. At slightest not ones with ample capacities.

Nintendo seems to beryllium 1 of the fewer gaming companies that inactive cares astir record size compression, arsenic evidenced by its games taking up a fraction of third-party AAA titles. But if you’re bringing implicit your older Switch games to the Switch 2, that volition besides instrumentality up much retention space. An upgrade battalion for Kirby and the Forgotten Land volition outgo $20 and buying it from Best Buy volition inactive lone nett you a codification for a integer download. If you larboard your archetypal transcript of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Switch 2, you’ll request to acquisition and download the “Switch 2 Edition” upgrade separately for $10 to summation improved framework rates, resolutions, and load times. Nintendo has said that if you bargain the Switch 2 mentation of a cross-platform game, you volition get the upgrade already connected the crippled card, nary further download required.

Nintendo Switch 2 crippled download sizes

Cyberpunk 2077 – 59.8 GB
Yakuza 0 – 53.7 GB
Mario Kart World – 23.4 GB
Bravely Default – 11 GB*
Donkey Kong Banaza – 10 GB*
Zelda BOTW – 24.2 GB
Zelda TOTK – 19.9 GB
Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 13 GB
Super Mario Party Jamboree – 13 GB pic.twitter.com/aPF46tN3qd

— Nintendeal (@Nintendeal) April 27, 2025

Every gamer volition request to cipher their full retention and spot if the games they mean to play volition max retired storage. In that case, Nintendo’s reply is for users to bargain a microSD Express card. These cards usage a PCIe representation interface that is perchance overmuch faster than the regular microSD, capable that it could lucifer the faster SSD retention of the Switch 2. The Switch 2 strategy supports up to 2TB of further storage, but it volition beryllium much costly than buying a microSD for the archetypal Switch. Your older, non-Express representation add-ons are not compatible. A 256GB microSD Express paper from Samsung emblazoned with Mario’s celebrated “M” logo volition outgo $60. You tin expect much companies to marque higher-capacity microSD Express options successful the aboriginal that could outgo overmuch more.

So not lone are you balancing your retention connected Switch 2, you’re besides balancing your wallet. When Nintendo released the Switch OLED, it doubled the retention to 64GB from the archetypal Switch’s 32GB. Sure, you could hold for a Switch 2 OLED and commune it comes with doubly the storage, too. But realistically, if you’re getting successful connected the Switch 2 astatine motorboat oregon successful the adjacent fewer years, you should astir apt prime up a microSD Express paper if you’re expecting to person a sizable crippled library. Especially if you’re going to bargain non-Nintendo games.