While some fans criticize Nintendo Switch 2’s physical game format, CD Projekt is taking a different route. Jan Rosner, the company’s senior VP of business development, believes a full plug-and-play cartridge is the right move, as Nintendo gamers still value complete physical editions.

The reveal of Nintendo Switch 2 has sparked strong community reactions, with debates not only about pricing but also about the shift to Game Key Cards — cartridges that don’t contain full games and instead trigger downloads. While not all titles will follow this route, CD Projekt RED has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 won’t use that method, rejecting it entirely. The Polish studio believes Nintendo’s solution misses the mark.

In an interview with The Game Business, Jan Rosner, CD Projekt’s senior VP of business development, discussed their decision to put Cyberpunk 2077 on a full cartridge, as well as their ongoing relationship with Nintendo. “We tried to look at those things from the players’ perspective,” Rosner said. “That was a big learning curve from the original Switch.” He added: “Internal memory was very limited back then. A game like The Witcher 3 would’ve taken up 80% of it unless you had external storage.”

He continued: “A plug-and-play experience is really cool. And we’ve seen that Nintendo fans really like that kind of simplicity. It was one of our goals from the beginning.” While many developers and publishers are going with Game Key Cards for their Switch 2 titles, CD Projekt is avoiding them altogether. “It’s not about imposing our view,” he said. “Nintendo is still strong in retail, and physical stores as a whole aren’t going anywhere. I don’t think we’ll be living in a digital-only future any time soon.”

It’s especially important for Nintendo’s audience

Despite the growing popularity of digital downloads, CD Projekt is not alone in prioritizing physical releases. Nightdive Studios has slammed Nintendo’s approach, calling it a step backward for video game preservation. Others, like the former Far Cry director, have echoed similar concerns, saying “Nintendo will get its way anyway.”

Rosner summed it up clearly: “Again, this is especially important for Nintendo’s audience. Sure, we could’ve done things differently — but would it have made sense? The right decision was to put it on cartridge, plug-and-play.” He ended with a bit of advice: “Don’t underestimate physical editions. They’re not going away, and Nintendo players genuinely appreciate a quality physical release.”

Source: 3djuegos