 |
| Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Switch 2 Game-Key Card shown |
Gamers, clear your calendars and, more urgently, your hard drives. With the January 22nd release date for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade on the Nintendo Switch 2 fast approaching, the pre-load is now officially live. Square Enix’s epic RPG is ready for download, but its staggering file size—over 90GB—has players scrambling and has ignited a fresh debate about the cost of next-gen gaming on the go.
While the pre-load allows eager fans to unlock and play the moment the clock strikes midnight, the reality of installing such a behemoth is causing headaches. The download consumes a jaw-dropping chunk of the Switch 2’s base 256GB internal storage, forcing many to make tough choices about which other titles to delete. Compounding the issue is the rising price of high-speed microSD Express cards in some regions, making storage expansion an increasingly painful added expense.
Why a Cartridge Was Never an Option for FF7 Remake
Many are asking: why isn’t this shipped on a standard Switch 2 game cartridge? The answer lies in physical limits. Currently, the maximum capacity for a Switch 2 cartridges is 64GB. FF7 Remake Intergrade blows past that limit, making a physical release on cart impossible.
This forced Square Enix to opt for a "Game-Key Card" solution—essentially a box with a download code and minimal data on the card itself. For buyers, this means monopolizing internet connections for a day or more and committing a huge portion of the console's precious storage, with no option to offload the game data to a cartridge.
FF7R pre-load big dawg
byu/Artoo2814 inNintendoSwitch2
A Deliberate Choice for Visual Fidelity
The massive size isn't an accident or a result of poor optimization. In fact, it's a deliberate choice by the developers. Game Director Naoki Hamaguchi has explained that the studio refused to compromise on the game's visual quality for the Switch 2 port. Modern, high-quality lighting effects and textures were prioritized to ensure the handheld version could stand favorably alongside its PS5 and PC counterparts.
The strategy seems to have paid off visually. The tech analysts at Digital Foundry praised the recent demo, calling it one of the best-looking titles on the Nintendo handheld to date. However, that polished presentation comes with a very tangible cost: over a third of your system's available space.
Performance also played a role in the distribution method. The Switch 2's cartridges, while improved, still can't match the read speeds of the console's internal UFS drive or even high-end external media. Using a cartridge for a game of this scale could have risked stuttering or slower loading times, making the digital-only route the only viable option for a seamless experience.
The community reaction to the download size has been a mix of awe and dread, perfectly captured in this trending thread on the Switch 2 subreddit. As one user put it, seeing the pre-load size is a real "welcome to next-gen" moment on handheld.
The Looming Switch 2 Storage Crisis
FF7 Remake is a landmark release for the Switch 2, but it also highlights a growing problem. As AAA titles from other platforms make the jump, their file sizes will consistently push against—and exceed—the limits of physical media. Fans are now openly calling for solutions, from Nintendo endorsing higher-capacity (if more expensive) cartridges to a necessary revision of the console with a larger base storage.
However, the tech industry throws another wrench into the works. The skyrocketing demand for high-speed NAND flash memory from AI data centers is driving up storage costs across the board, affecting everything from SSDs to the very microSD Express cards Switch 2 owners rely on. While a mid-generation console update with a 512GB or 1TB drive seems inevitable, Nintendo will have to carefully balance consumer expectations with these rising manufacturing costs.
For now, Switch 2 owners facing down the 90GB download have a weekend of storage management ahead of them. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade promises a premium experience on January 22nd, but it’s a stark reminder that in the era of digital delivery and cinematic games, space is the final frontier.