Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition for Switch 2 Reignites Controversy Over Game-Key Cards

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition was part of the first batch of games revealed to be part of the Nintendo Switch 2 range last year, but it hasn’t been released yet. Developer FromSoftware delayed the game from its initial 2025 release, but on Thursday pre-orders opened at retailers. Some players aren’t happy with the news, however, but not for the reason you might expect.

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition will cost $80, depending on the pre-order listsalthough there is still no confirmed release date. THE Switch 2 The release includes the 2022 base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLCwhich costs the same price on other platforms. What is different between the Switch 2 version and the others is that it is available on a game key cardwhich arouses the anger of the players.

Game-Key Cards are Nintendo’s solution for storing larger games. Since the Switch 2 still uses cartridges, a game like Elden Ring would need carts with enough storage for the entire game, which according to at the game boxis 75 GB. A cart suitable for the size of a game would incur significant hardware costs, especially considering the current storage shortage.

To offset the cost of a cart, Nintendo created Game-Key Cards, cartridges that do not contain the game, just enough to validate the game with Nintendo’s servers and allow it to be downloaded to the Switch 2. Once the game is downloaded to the Switch 2 and the cartridge inserted, it will not need an Internet connection to play it.

Why are people unhappy with the Game-Key Card feature?

While the Game-Key Card feature helps reduce the cost of releasing a physical game, it also prevents the buyer from actually owning a physical copy. There are growing concerns about the lack of ownership in video games, as more publishers delist games, meaning removing them from store windows. Once a game is removed from an online store, it is almost impossible to download it again on another device. PUBG for PS4 and Xbox One was released in 2018, for example, but the publisher announced that it would no longer support these versions, making them unreadable.

A consumer movement called Stop Killing Games aims to challenge the legal right of gaming companies to essentially destroy games purchased by consumers. It has made progress in the United Kingdom and the European Union, with the hope that the respective legislative bodies will pass consumer protection laws to prevent companies from disabling already purchased games.

Will the digital version of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition be cheaper?

Starting with the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May, Nintendo will charge $10 less for a digital version of its games, meaning a $70 physical game would cost $60 if purchased digitally from Nintendo. It’s unclear whether other publishers will follow suit. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is listed on Nintendo’s website, but there’s no pricing yet.

What’s new in Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition?

When publisher Bandai Namco revealed the tarnished edition of Elden Ring, it confirmed that there would be some new content, but not much. This includes new armor, weapon, and customization features for Torrent’s appearance. There will also be two additional starting classes: the Knight of Idis, who is faster and more agile, and the Heavy Knight, who, as the name suggests, wears heavy armor and starts with a greatsword.

Adding new starting classes to the game doesn’t change much, as players can change their stats, gear, and abilities as they play, meaning a class that starts out relying on magic could end up using heavy weapons and vice versa. Fans of the game, however, might get a bit of new insight into these new classes, as each starting character has their own backstory that offers a burst of detail to the world of Elden Ring.

Bandai Namco says that new Tarnished Edition content will be available on other platforms via a Tarnished Pack DLC that will be available alongside this version of the game. The publisher has not yet announced the price of the DLC, but it is expected to cost $10.