Switch 2’s built-in storage can only fit four AAA games

Nintendo recently started taking pre-orders for Switch 2 games through its online store, coinciding with the opening of Switch 2 console pre-orders. Out of habit, I immediately scrolled to the “Game file size” section on each page to see how much storage each game will require. Some Switch 2 game file sizes are bigger than I expected, closer in size to Windows PC counterparts than original Switch ports were.

This makes sense given that Nintendo’s upcoming console is powerful enough to run games at 1080p and beyond at fast frame rates. And yet, it’ll only take a handful of games to completely fill up your Switch 2’s built-in 256 GB storage. Here are some file sizes of forthcoming Switch 2 ports:

• Madden NFL 26 will be a 62 GB download
• Split Fiction will be 73 GB
• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and Hitman World of Assassination: Signature Edition will each be around 59 GB
• Even Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut comes in at 53.7 GB.

All of those games together clock in at just over 300 GB — now you need a microSD Express card.

As usual, Nintendo’s first-party games are among the tiniest Switch 2 games in terms of install sizes. Mario Kart World is 23.4 GB, while Donkey Kong Bananza is, somehow, just 10 GB. Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs range in size, with Tears of the Kingdom taking up an extra 3.6 GB beyond the base install, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land taking up an extra 11 GB.

It might seem nuts to buy add-on storage for a console you don’t yet possess, but we think it’s smart to grab the biggest microSD Express card you can afford for use in the Switch 2. They’re much faster (and pricier) compared to the microSD cards used in the Switch and other devices like the Steam Deck. Note: your old microSD cards won’t be compatible with the Switch 2 for anything buy looking at screenshots and video clips you’ve captured on an original Switch.