The Nintendo Switch 2 has gotten off to a roaring start, with Nintendo announcing it’s the company’s “fastest-selling console ever.” But that success doesn’t necessarily seem to be translating to sales for third-party publishers, with one publisher even saying sales have been “below our lowest estimates.”
That comes from TheGameBusiness’ Chris Dring, who collated a bunch of numbers from the consoles’ launch, no top of talking to a few third-party publishers. Dring breaks everything down in his latest newsletter in great detail.
The key numbers to look at come from sales trackers Circana and NielsenIQ. Apparently, 62% of Switch 2 physical game sales in the US (just launch week) were from first-party games. And that would also exclude the Mario Kart World Bundle. Similarly, 48% of physical game sales in the UK were from first-party games.
Cyberpunk 2077 was apparently the best-selling third-party game, beating the launch sales of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the first Switch. As Dring notes, it’s worth pointing out that CD Projekt Red was one of the only publisher to put the full game on Cyberpunk’s cartridge, and not opt for a game key card.
There are likely a few different reasons for why we’re seeing this slow start. Dring himself points out the console has enhanced backward compatibility, which could push many players to simply play what they already own. Then there’s a lack of reviews considering no media received consoles pre-launch. The third factor, of course, is that most of the Switch 2’s launch games are ports of older titles — meaning very little in terms of completely “new” experiences.
But there was quite a lot available at launch, with the likes of Civilization VII, Split Fiction, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Street Fighter 6, and more.
It’s not entirely bad, however, as Dring notes the sales figures for Switch 2 are an improvement when compared to the launch of the original Switch. At that time, 89 percent of sales were from first-party games.
Circana’s Mat Piscatella added to this with a post on Blue Sky, saying, “3rd party share of Switch 2 software in the US is far better than it was during the Switch 1 launch.”
Despite these numbers, it’s likely too early to deduce anything definitively. And Dring also notes that many major publishers have told him Nintendo is “actively trying to push third-party games this time around.” Even in the Switch 2’s reveal Nintendo Direct there was a significant portion of time devoted to third-parties.
There are also some big games we already know are on the way, with the likes of EA Sports Madden 26, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, and Borderlands 4. And that’s before even counting Nintendo’s own offerings.
