Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds May Have Bad News for Switch 2 Owners

Nintendo Switch 2 owners looking to pick up Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds this fall may be in for a disappointment, as a well-known leaker claims physical copies of the game for that console may be released via Game Key-Card. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set to deliver some serious racing game competition for Mario Kart World, but a lot of fans seem like they would be disappointed without the release of the physical game on an actual cartridge.

Initially announced at The Game Awards 2024 via a brief trailer, fans were instantly excited at the prospect of the first new game in the kart-racing series since Team Sonic Racing in 2019. The game is currently scheduled for release on September 25 for multiple platforms, including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and Nintendo Switch. While Switch 2 owners will be able to play the original Switch version on their new consoles, an upgraded Switch 2 version is planned for release at a later date.

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Sonic Producer Reveals Why Some Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Items Were Cut During Development

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds' development team cut a lot of potentially powerful items from the game in playtesting for very good reasons.

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Sonic Team may have been dealt an early blow in its Nintendo rivalry, though, as leaker Wario64 revealed on social media that customers who buy a copy of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for Nintendo Switch 2 may not be getting the actual game on a cartridge. He delivered the information from one of his followers, who had shared a reported image of a conversation with Sega customer support stating that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for Switch 2 would actually arrive via Nintendo's controversial Game Key-Cards — bright red Switch 2 cartridge casings that contain not the game data itself, but a key for downloading it. Sega has not officially confirmed this information either way, though alleged images of the Switch 2 version's box art released earlier this week did not indicate that it would be included on a Game Key-Card.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' Game Key-Card Status on Switch 2 is Still Unclear

Nintendo introduced the Game Key-Card system as a way for Switch 2 owners who value physical game cases to still have something to put on a shelf, as the limited storage space of its cartridges would otherwise restrict many games to digital download-only situations. However, the company has also stated that its first-party-developed games will not use Game Key-Cards, which has led some to criticize Nintendo for perceived double standards.

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Many have compared Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to Mario Kart World, which released alongside the Switch 2 on June 5. However, Sega's Takashi Iizuka expects the two games to provide completely different experiences for players, as he has stated that his team's game will be a purer competitive racer as opposed to Mario Kart World being more of a racing action game.