Absolum gets full cartridge
In contrast to Elden Ring’s key‑card approach, the indie title Absolum has a confirmed Switch 2 physical release that reportedly includes the entire game on a single cartridge — a notable difference for physical collectors and store stocking. (Reports confirmed a Switch 2 physical edition for Absolum and that it will contain the full game on cartridge.) ( )
A lot of Switch 2 game boxes are turning into fancy download vouchers, and Absolum just went the other way. Dotemu’s fantasy brawler is getting a physical Switch 2 edition with the full game stored on the cartridge itself, with pre-orders already live for $49.99 and release planned for the third quarter of 2026. (noisypixel.net) That detail stands out because Nintendo’s new “game-key card” format can ship a box and cartridge that mainly unlock a download instead of holding the whole game. Nintendo Life reported this week that Amazon’s listing for Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 shows exactly that setup, with a listed price of $79.99. (nintendolife.com) Absolum is a much smaller game than Elden Ring, which helps explain why this is even possible. It is an arcade-style side-scrolling beat ’em up from Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks, and Gematsu says the Switch 2 physical edition was announced on April 7 with the full game on card. (gematsu.com) The game first launched on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and personal computer through Steam on October 9, 2025, and then reached Xbox Series on March 25, 2026. That means the Switch 2 box is not a day-one release for a brand-new game, but a later physical edition for a title that already exists in finished form. (gematsu.com) Silver Lining Interactive is handling the boxed version, and multiple outlets say the company is leaning hard into the “complete on cart” pitch. Essential Japan reported prices of $49.99 in the United States, £44.99 in the United Kingdom, and €49.99 in Europe for the Switch 2 edition. (essential-japan.com) That matters to collectors for a simple reason: a full cartridge can still work years later without depending on a store page staying online. It also matters to stores, because a used or unopened copy has obvious value on its own when the software is physically inside the box. (nintendolife.com) Absolum also has some history here. Silver Lining and its partners had already released physical versions on PlayStation 5 and the original Nintendo Switch, and Tesura Games says those earlier runs sold out within days, which helps explain why the publishers are trying the same approach on Nintendo’s new hardware. (tesuragames.com) So the story is not that every Switch 2 publisher is rejecting game-key cards. The story is that one indie release just showed there is still room on Switch 2 for the old promise of physical media: buy the box, insert the cartridge, and the game is already there. (finalweapon.net)
