The physical edition of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Switch 2 port will come on a Game-Key Card because Square Enix is looking to maximize the RPG’s performance, according to the game’s director, Naoki Hamaguchi. This explanation came during a recent interview in which Hamaguchi also discussed additional details about the most contentious aspect of the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake port.
On September 12, Hamaguchi personally revealed that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to the Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S. Square Enix followed up on that announcement by sharing the box designs of the new versions’ physical editions. It didn’t take long for fans to notice that the Switch 2 version was listed as a Game-Key Card release. As is the case with all high-profile titles utilizing this format, the revelation prompted some online complaints.
Switch 2 Game-Key Cards Offer Faster Loading Times Than Cartridges
In a new interview with German outlet JPGames (via Automaton West), Hamaguchi defended the decision to ship the upcoming port on a Game-Key Card instead of a cartridge, which would potentially make it playable out of the box, without requiring a substantial download. The industry veteran argued that “high-end HD” projects in the vein of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade face bottlenecks in the form of loading speeds on cartridges. Running the game from the internal flash storage is notably faster, which is why Square Enix opted for a Game-Key Card, essentially digitalizing the RPG’s Switch 2 “physical” edition.
Hamaguchi acknowledged player complaints about Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade launching on a Game-Key Card, saying he understands why some fans dislike the format. However, he insisted that the loading-time trade-off of a traditional cartridge release was not justified in this case. “[A cartridge] is going to be inferior, it just has to be, that’s the way the media works, physically,” he said.
Why Are Switch 2 Game-Key Cards So Controversial?
Some vocal Nintendo fans have been pushing back against Game-Key Cards since they were announced in April 2025, citing concerns over game preservation stemming from “fake physical” boxes that don’t actually contain games and rely on servers that Nintendo may shut down in the future. The Japanese gaming giant framed the format as a way to let developers bypass storage and loading speed limitations of cartridges—as Hamaguchi now reiterated—while simultaneously reducing physical distribution costs, since Game-Key Cards are significantly cheaper than cartridges. They also allow for license transfers by simply handing them over to someone else, much like traditional physical games.
[A cartridge] is going to be inferior, it just has to be, that’s the way the media works, physically.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will reach the Switch 2 on January 22, 2026. That’s also the date of the game’s Xbox Series X/S launch. Square Enix isn’t stopping there, with Hamaguchi previously revealing that the entire Final Fantasy 7 remake series will be making the jump to both platforms in due time. There’s still no word on when Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will make its way to Nintendo’s latest console, but given what Hamaguchi says about its predecessor, it seems likely that its physical version will also be a Game-Key Card release.