While the Nintendo Switch 2’s Game-Key Cards have garnered much dissatisfaction from players due to issues like preservation and internet connection requirements, developers are looking at things from a different perspective. For Final Fantasy VII Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi, the decision to use a Game-Key Card instead of a physical cartridge for the title’s Switch 2 version had to do with the latter’s limitations.
In an interview with JPGames, Hamaguchi says that he understands why players don’t like Game-Key Cards and why they’re annoyed with the situation. However, “among developers, the discussion about the keycard format is perhaps a bit different to what fans maybe expect.”
He goes on to explain that while the 64 GB capacity of physical cartridges is limiting too, the biggest issue for developers who make large-scale, “high-end HD” games is loading speed. Much like recent statements from Star Wars Outlaws’ developers, he explains that the loading speeds of games running on physical cartridges are inherently much slower compared to titles loaded from SSD. “It’s going to be inferior, it just has to be, that’s the way the media works, physically,” he comments. As such, the option to use Game-Key Cards allows developers to achieve smoother loading for AAA games being ported to the Switch 2.
While Hamaguchi is sympathetic to players’ concerns, he hopes that they will come to accept Game-Key Cards as a part of Switch 2 gaming. To him, Game-Key Cards can give developers more opportunities to bring games to the platform. Not every developer has to use them, but it’s nice for the option to be there instead of relying solely on physical cartridges.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC (Windows). Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned for January 22, 2026.
