Nintendo Switch 2 has had a phenomenally successful launch, selling over 3.5 million units and becoming Nintendo’s fastest-selling hardware ever. The same, however, can’t be said for third-party titles that were released on the platform on day one. Switch 2 versions of existing games from third-party publishers like CD Projekt Red, Warner Bros., EA, Sega, 2K, among others launched alongside the new console earlier this month, but sales have reportedly been disappointing.
Third-Party Sales on Switch 2 Disappoint
According to data compiled by The Game Business, third-party sales on the Switch 2 during the console’s launch window have bettered that on the Switch 1, but not by much. Most third-party publishers have recorded “very low” sales numbers despite the Switch 2 selling millions of units, the report claimed citing data from various market analytics firms. One unnamed third-party publisher, in fact, reportedly said its Switch 2 sales failed to meet its “lowest estimates”.
CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, however, was the exception. According to NielsenIQ data cited in the report, the RPG was the best-selling third-party title during Switch 2’s launch period, beating sales of The Witcher 3 on the Switch 1.
Sega was the third biggest publisher in terms of sales during Switch 2 launch, behind first-party Nintendo sales and CD Projekt Red, according to data from Circana. The publisher released Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, Sonic X Shadow Generations and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S as launch titles on the Switch 2.
Unsurprisingly, Nintendo first-party titles formed the major chunk of Switch 2 game sales at launch. According to the report, first-party games made up 86 percent of Switch 2 physical game sales in the UK during launch week, including the Mario Kart World bundle. In the US, these titles contributed to 62 percent of Switch 2 physical game sales in the launch week, excluding Mario Kart World Bundle.
First-party games released on the Switch 2 on launch day include Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. In general, Switch 2 owners have favoured physical releases, which form over 80 percent of retail sales for games released both digitally and physically, the report said.
Nintendo Switch 2 launched on June 5 and went on to sell 3.5 million units in its launch week. The hybrid console is Nintendo’s fastest-selling game system ever. Switch 2 also set the record for all-time launch week unit sales for video game hardware in the US, beating the PS4.