A new report from The Game Business, authored by respected industry analyst Chris Dring, sheds light on early sales trends for the recently launched Switch 2—and the numbers reveal a stark divide between Nintendo’s first-party success and third-party struggles.
The fully revealed Nintendo Switch 2 console – YouTube, Nintendo of America
According to launch data from NielsenIQ, a staggering 86% of physical game sales for Switch 2 in the UK were Nintendo-published titles, a figure heavily influenced by the inclusion of Mario Kart World in the hardware bundle. When excluding the bundle, Nintendo still accounted for 48% of game sales, showing a strong hold on consumer interest even without pack-in assistance.
In the U.S., data from Circana indicates a similar trend. There, 68% of game sales were for first-party titles, again excluding the Mario Kart bundle. While these numbers are slightly lower than the launch of the original Switch—where first-party games made up 89% of UK sales and 81% in the U.S.—the Switch 2 debuted with a significantly larger library of games, which makes the first-party dominance all the more notable.
Cyberpunk Tops Third-Party, But Most Publishers Struggle
Among third-party offerings, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition emerged as the best-selling non-Nintendo title at launch. Its success is partially credited to including the full game on a physical cartridge, in contrast to the unpopular “Game-Key Card” format used by most other third-party games.
The joycons for the Nintendo Switch 2 – YouTube, Super Nintendo Fan
These Game-Key Cards provide a download code inside the case, rather than a playable cartridge—something many collectors and physical media fans have rejected outright.
Sega performed relatively well, becoming the third-largest third-party publisher on the platform at launch. Titles like Sonic X Shadow Generations, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S helped the company carve out a modest presence.
A screenshot from Sonic X Shadow Generations (2024), Sonic Team
However, not all publishers are pleased with the results. One unnamed third-party executive told The Game Business that launch sales came in “below our lowest estimates,” despite what they described as “remarkably strong hardware sales” for the system itself.
Why Are Third-Party Games Underperforming?
There appear to be multiple factors contributing to the underwhelming third-party performance:
Nintendo First, Everything Else Second
As history has shown, many consumers purchase Nintendo hardware specifically for Nintendo games.
Mario in a screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
This trend seems intact with the Switch 2, even more so given the strength of Mario Kart World.
Backward Compatibility Dulls Urgency
The Switch 2 is fully backward compatible with original Switch titles.
Link in The Legend of Zelda Breath of The Wild – YouTube, Nintendo of America
Many of those legacy games run better on the new hardware, reducing the urgency for consumers to buy new releases—especially ports of older titles.
Recycled Content
A large number of third-party Switch 2 games are ports or re-releases of games that players may have already experienced years ago on other platforms, offering little incentive for repurchase.
Game-Key Backlash
As mentioned, the use of Game-Key Cards instead of full cartridges is widely disliked among Nintendo’s fanbase.
The magnetic joycons for the Nintendo Switch 2 – YouTube, Super Nintendo Fan
This anti-download-code sentiment likely hurt third-party boxed sales significantly.
Review Embargo Frustrations
Nintendo chose to withhold Switch 2 hardware from reviewers until the last minute, leaving both media outlets and consumers unable to properly evaluate the quality of third-party ports ahead of release.
A screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
For instance, Hitman World of Assassination looked like a showcase title on paper, but its disappointing frame rate on the new hardware has already made headlines.
What Comes Next?
While it’s still early in the console’s life cycle, the writing on the wall suggests that third-party publishers may have an uphill battle on the Switch 2—particularly if Nintendo continues to dominate the release calendar. With highly anticipated exclusives like Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokémon Legends: Z-A set to arrive later this year, it may be even harder for outside publishers to capture attention.
A screenshot from Nintendo Direct where Shigeru Miyamoto poses with Donkey Kong
Unless something shifts—be it in pricing, marketing, or cartridge policy—third-party studios could find themselves competing not just with each other, but with Nintendo’s deep library of evergreen titles and growing hardware ecosystem.
Do you think third-party titles have a prayer on the Nintendo Switch 2? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Frankly, I hope all third party developers avoid nintendo at this point because it’s clear nintendo doesn’t care about them or their customers. They only care about the whales.
People buy 3rd party games on PC. Nintendo machines are for Nintendo games and the only exclusive one for the Switch 2 is Mario Kart World. I wouldn’t buy any Game Key-Cards regardless of the publisher or the title itself.
Nintendo always rakes in the lions share of software sales on their hardware and considering many of the launch releases were ports from other platforms and gimmicks. Like porting Civ 7 on an audience that never embraced strategy games (or if they have, they have a PC for that) because “look, we have a mouse which is comfortable to use for 10 minutes!”
I, like most of my friends and colleagues, use Nintendo hardware to play Nintendo headlining titles. None of the other games have grabbed me or I’ve already played on other (more capable) platforms.
The camera, the “mouse”, don’t seem to be value add, right now. Of course it took Nintendo to revolutionize motion controllers so I won’t count them out just yet.
We need Linux to take over gaming, an open source set-up (hardware and software) that is open to all. The technology is all there, we just need it to become “a thing”, as they say, beyond Steam for Linux.