A French retailer appears to have leaked box art for a Nintendo Switch 2 Version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the latest in the long-running Assassin series, which was released in March of this year. Rumors that the title would slash its way on Nintendo’s latest platform since back to April, when the European rating board, PEGI, rated the game for the platform. Auchan, the French retailer in question, has since removed its posting for the game, but the listing promised, while it was available, “experience Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a whole new way with Nintendo Switch 2.”
Members of the r/GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit noted upon seeing the key art that the box was marked, similar to other games, with a Game-Key card, which means the game will not be completely included on the cartridge for the Nintendo Switch 2, and will instead require a portion or all of the game to be downloaded via the internet. This is in contrast to another big game that launched alongside the system, Cyberpunk 2077, which was able to include all 64GB of it on its game card. Assassin’s Creed Shadows, on PS5, had a 102GB install, which is sizable, though it is unclear what concessions are being made for the title to run on the handheld. Ubisoft similarly releases its open-world action game Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch 2 via a Game-Key Card as well.
In September, right around the release of Star Wars Outlaws, an Ubisoft developer involved with the port defended the decision, claiming this choice is being made due to the Nintendo Switch 2’s data speeds. In particular, the hardware can better read data from the bespoke cartridge in comparison to games downloaded directly to the console’s internal memory. This sentiment was echoed by Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi, who stated that developers were choosing Game-Key Cards not from a cost perspective but a performance one.
Game-Key Cards have remained controversial since the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced, with Nintendo even releasing a poll that gauged audience reaction and desire to make a purchase one way over the other, with the survey specifically asking consumers about Game-Key Cards.
Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Bluesky to keep up to date on everything we have going on!
