Of all of the Nintendo Switch 2 third-party ports, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is probably the most impressive for a number of reasons. Not only is this absolutely massive game looking and running pretty darn good, an achievement given the scope of the game, but it's also launching entirely on the cartridge day one — no Game-Key Card, no download codes, it's all there.
And it sounds like Cyberpunk and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red is a real champion of the "complete" physical edition. Jan Rosner, Vice President of Business Development at the Polish developer, has shared his thoughts on physical games and the Game-Key Card situation in an interview with The Game Business's Chris Dring.
Responding to why it was so important to get the whole game onto a cartridge, Rosner tells Dring that CD Projekt Red tries to "look at those things as players ourselves" which was a "big learning from Switch".
With Cyberpunk, Rosner thinks "the additional download is maybe an unnecessary step which you would need to take" and that "Just the plug-and-play experiences... is a really cool thing we wanted to do."
Could CD Projekt Red have "gotten away" with making Cyberpunk 2077 a Game-Key Card release? Rosner thinks that "it's not a matter of getting away with something" and that "Nintendo at physical retail is still strong, and retail is, in general, not going anywhere."
He reiterates that physical releases are "especially important for the Nintendo audience" and that the developer didn't really see the point of trying to go digital-only. "The right thing to do was to have it out on the cartridge."
Rosner continues to talk about the importance of physical media, and advises "“Do not underestimate the physical edition" particularly in terms of the Switch 2. "It's not going anywhere and Nintendo players are very appreciative of physical editions that are done right."
Amidst all of the confusion and controversy surrounding the digital shift, Switch 2 Edition sizes, download requirements, and Game-Key Card releases, it's refreshing to hear a major developer like CD Projekt Red commit and double down on its physical releases. The studio is also incredibly positive towards Nintendo, with Rosner calling them an "awesome partner" and that "we will surely be looking at [Switch 2]" going forward.
Just last week, Cyberpunk 2077 was the focus of Nintendo's Creator's Voice video series, where CD Projekt Red told fans that the Switch 2 is "the best way" to play the game handheld.
Check out the full interview with Jan Rosner over on The Game Business, and let us know your thoughts on Cyberpunk in the lead up to the Switch 2's launch in the comments.