Licence, not a copy (game-key cards)
You buy the right to play, not a copy you can keep.
You're paying for permission to play, which the publisher can end: fine while it lasts, a problem when a game is switched off.
What you're actually buying
A licence: permission to download and play a game under the publisher's terms. A Game-Key Card, for example, contains no game data and only unlocks a download. The cartridge or box is a receipt for access that someone else can switch off.
How it works
A physical cartridge was once the game. Now, in Nintendo's own words, a Game-Key Card 'doesn't include the game data' and is 'your key to downloading the full game': you insert it, get online, download, and keep the card inserted to play. Nintendo points to rising file sizes. The licence is the risk, not the cartridge. When Ubisoft shut down The Crew's servers it then revoked players' licences, leaving a library entry reading 'You no longer have access to this game'.
When it's fine
When the game runs offline, the full game is on the card or disc, or the publisher has a clear end-of-life plan, and you are comfortable that you're buying the right to play.
Where it came from
The 1977 cartridge promised pay once, own it for good, and by 2015 studios were selling that promise as a luxury ('no microtransactions'). Nintendo Switch 2 launched on 5 June 2025, and many third-party physical releases since have shipped as Game-Key Cards. Full cartridges are rare: Cyberpunk 2077 shipped on one, and physical copies made up 75.4% of its Switch 2 sales against 24.6% digital, roughly three to one. Ubisoft delisted The Crew on 14 December 2023, shut its servers on 31 March 2024 and revoked licences within days. Google Stadia's 2023 shutdown raised the same question for cloud games.
Rules and regulation
A lawsuit over The Crew was filed in California in November 2024 (amended March 2025), alleging misleading marketing. Ubisoft's defence was that the packaging said online access could be revoked with 30 days' notice.
The European 'Stop Destroying Videogames' initiative cleared the one-million-signature threshold (1,294,188 verified). On 16 June 2026 the European Commission said it 'cannot propose a legal obligation' to keep discontinued games playable, but committed to industry talks on a code of conduct by the end of 2026.
Historical prices and revenues are in US dollars at the time unless marked A$.
By the numbers
Nintendo's support documentation says a Game-Key Card 'doesn't include the game data' and 'is your key to downloading the full game'.
CD Projekt Red's H1 2025 report found 75.4% of Cyberpunk 2077's Switch 2 sales were physical copies, against 24.6% digital (roughly 3 to 1).
Ubisoft delisted The Crew on 14 December 2023 and shut down its servers on 31 March 2024, then revoked players' licences.
The 'Stop Destroying Videogames' European Citizens' Initiative gathered 1,448,270 signatures by 31 July 2025; the European Commission verified 1,294,188 as valid.
Games that use it
No games in the database use this yet. Well-known examples: The Crew, Star Wars Outlaws, Cyberpunk 2077 (Switch 2 full cartridge), Google Stadia purchases.
Related badges
Covered in Video Games & Money: Ep 38 · Empty cartridge, Ep 34 · Cloud, Ep 5 · Cartridge.