Physical copies of Overwatch on Switch don’t include a cartridge

If you’re planning on picking up Overwatch for Nintendo Switch this week — it’s out on Tuesday, Oct. 15, by the way — you might just want to grab your copy from the Nintendo eShop instead of trekking out to a brick-and-mortar retailer. The physical version of Overwatch for Switch doesn’t contain a physical cartridge, just a download code.

In some ways, that makes sense. Overwatch is an online-only multiplayer game. And the game has been updated consistently over the past three years; the PlayStation 4 install is pushing 30 GB at this point, for example. A physical cartridge would be little more than a digital key to the game, which regularly receives new content.

But it makes less sense to ship a plastic case to stores with a digital code printed on a piece of paper, despite Overwatch being a marquee Switch release that probably should have a physical presence in stores.

So if you were thinking about buying Overwatch physically for the purpose of having a game card that you could use on multiple Switch consoles, consider this a public service announcement. It says so right there on the box (“Game card not included!”) but plan your purchase accordingly.

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