Switch 2 has got off to a flying start, with Nintendo proudly trumpeting the console as its “fastest-selling hardware ever” just days after launch. But while things are looking rosy for Nintendo, a new report suggests third-party titles have so far struggled, with one third-party publisher saying sales have been “below our lowest estimates”.
That’s according to TheGameBusiness’ Chris Dring, who collated some pertinent sales figures surrounding Switch 2’s launch in his latest newsletter. The key numbers are that 48 percent of physical game sales in the UK (and 62 percent of physical game sales in the US) were first-party titles, if Switch 2’s Mario Kart World bundle is excluded; but if it’s not, 86 percent of Switch 2 physical game sales in the UK were for first-party titles. Nintendo, for context, had three titles available physically at launch: Mario Kart World, plus Switch 2 editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom; third-parties released a total of 13 physical games.
Dring notes Switch 2’s figures are an improvement compared to the original Switch’s launch, where 89 percent of UK physical sales were from first-party games, but adds that “most third-party Switch 2 games posted very low numbers”, despite the availability of some big names, including Civilization 7, Split Fiction, Street Fighter, and Hogwarts Legacy (the report’s source, NielsenIQ, does not publicly release video game sales data).
Speaking to TheGameBusiness, one unnamed third-party publisher painted a bleak picture of its Switch 2 launch sales, saying they’d been “below our lowest estimates”. However, not every third-party release has struggled. Dring says CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077 was the “best-selling third-party game during the launch of Switch 2”, and did “reasonable numbers”.
Dring highlights the fact CD Projekt was one of the few publishers not to opt for Nintendo’s controversial Game Key Cards, which require full downloads to play, and quotes CD Projekt’s Jan Rosner as having previously said, “Do not underestimate the physical edition. It’s not going anywhere and Nintendo players are very appreciative of physical editions that are done right.”
As to why most third-parties have got off to a slow start on Switch 2, Dring suggests a number of reasons in his analysis; there’s the console’s enhanced backward compatibility, for starters, meaning many players (we’ve got some of them here) are likely also delving into the original Switch’s impressive back catalogue right now. That’s alongside a lack of reviews covering third-party games given Nintendo’s decision not to provide early consoles to press, and it’s hard to ignore the fact almost all third-party Switch 2 titles are ports of older games, which many core players have likely already experienced elsewhere.
Despite all this, Dring says many major publishers have told him Nintendo is “actively trying to push third-party games this time around”, so the hope will obviously be that sales pick up once players have had their fill of Mario Kart World. Notable confirmed third-party titles still to release include EA Sports Madden 26 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, while Nintendo’s big hitters include Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, plus Switch 2 editions of Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.