Sega ditches Nintendo's controversial Game-Key Cards for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' physical Switch 2 release

Date:
Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:04:24 +0000

Description:
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' physical Nintendo Switch 2 release will be on the cartridge and not a Game-Key Card, Sega has confirmed.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Sega will not be using Game-Key Cards for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds The physical Switch 2 release has been confirmed for March 26, 2026 Pre-orders are live now, with an early purchase bonus

Some good news if you were waiting on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds ' physical game release on Nintendo Switch 2 .

Sega has confirmed, on its official website , that the physical version of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' Nintendo Switch 2 Edition "will feature the full base game on cartridge." And looking at the box art, as we speculated last year when the physical version was initially announced, you'll find that the Game-Key Card logo is nowhere to be seen.

The physical Switch 2 Edition of the game arrives on March 26, 2026, and can be pre-ordered now for $69.99 / 64.99. As was the case on other platforms, players can get the Werehog character and vehicle as an early purchase bonus.

While Game-Key Cards do have certain use cases (they're handy for delivering games that are larger than the 64GB cartridge size, for example), the model hasn't been received warmly by Switch 2 physical collectors . That's largely due to Game-Key Cards downloading the majority of game files; they're not actually on the cartridge.

Naturally that means there are game preservation concerns around the topic.
If and when Nintendo discontinues its Switch 2 online services, Game-Key
Cards may not be able to retrieve the data they need to complete a game download.

Otherwise, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will have been out for around six months by the time the physical Switch 2 version lands. There's been plenty of additional content since launch in the form of new characters and race
courses - including Hatsune Miku, Ichiban Kasuga, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Pac-Man.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/sega-ditches-nintendos-controversial-game-key -cards-for-sonic-racing-crossworlds-physical-switch-2-release


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