A Ubisoft employee just revealed how Nintendo Switch 2 Game Cards can actually hurt some games’ performance. The developer explained that the handheld console’s cartridges are so limiting that they were forced to put Star Wars Outlaws on a Game-Key Card instead.
Star Wars Outlaws Is Game-Key Card Only Because Switch 2 Cards Hurt Performance
While most players hate Game-Key Cards for Switch 2, Ubisoft claims that it actually saved Star Wars Outlaws’ recent port to the Nintendo console. In a series of posts on BlueSky, Ubisoft developer Rob Bantin explained how the controversial digital format actually benefited the game’s release. According to them, it wasn’t the game’s file size that was the issue, but Switch cartridges having memory limitations.
“Snowdrop relies heavily on disk streaming for its open-world environments. And we found the Switch 2 cards simply didn’t give the performance we needed at the quality target we were going for. I don’t recall the cost of the cards ever entering the discussion—probably because it was moot.” So there you have it, Star Wars Outlaws is a Game-Key Card only because the Switch 2’s normal carts aren’t.
This is an interesting insight, because many consumers have been heavily critical of Nintendo Switch 2 Game-Key Cards. It’s also noteworthy because Ubisoft is currently being praised for Star Wars Outlaws’ launch on Switch. According to tech analysts, it’s one of the most impressive ports ever released. While the game is capped at 30 FPS, it apparently runs and looks incredible for an open-world RPG.
Switch 2 Ports Continue to Be Problematic
Rob Bantin offered additional thoughts about the Switch 2. They explained that its cards wouldn’t be as much of an issue if a game was designed specifically for the system. “I think if we’d designed a game for Switch 2 from the ground up, it might have been different. As it was, we’d built a game around the SSDs of the initial target platforms. And then the Switch 2 came along a while later. In this case, I think our leadership made the right call.”
While Star Wars Outlaws has landed on the Switch 2 with praise, the same can’t be said for other third-party games recently. Specifically, many ports to the Nintendo handheld have continued to have performance issues. For example, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance launched at 720p resolution, and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is stuck at 30FPS. There was also the much-publicized Elden Ring Tarnished Edition demo at Gamescom, which reportedly showed off poor performance.
Even more worrying are early impressions of Borderlands 4. According to people who previewed it, the game struggled to maintain 30FPS on Switch 2. Early reports also claim the port struggled to have more than four enemies on the screen at the same time. However, that could be an issue with Unreal Engine 5 (UE5).
Regardless, it’s interesting to see a developer open up about why ports have technical hurdles on the Switch 2. With Star Wars Outlaws being praised as one of the best ports released, maybe Ubisoft was right to go with Game-Key Cards only after all.
The post Ubisoft Reveals How Nintendo Switch 2 Cards Are Hurting Game Performance appeared first on VICE.
