BioShock, Borderlands and XCOM 2 on Switch are too big to fit on a cartridge

(Image credit: Gearbox)

Nintendo Switch owners got some brilliant news in late March, with a new Nintendo Direct revealing that a series of classic video games were getting ported to the handheld-home console hybrid.

That’s right: the BioShock Collection, Borderlands Legendary Collection, and XCOM 2 Collection are all coming to Nintendo Switch.

Some of these games were pretty big releases on PC and consoles, but we wouldn’t be surprised at this point to see them on Switch. With Doom and Doom Eternal landing on the Switch platform, and even The Witcher 3 getting ported to the console, it’s clear that the humble Switch is good for a lot more than paying rent to Tom Nook in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

However, there’s one catch to these releases, which is their install file sizes.

Make room, everyone

The Borderlands Collection – which does contain the first two games and 2014’s Pre-Sequel, though not Borderlands 3 – requires an additional 6.6GB download on top of the data contained on the cartridge to load just the first game. If you want to play Borderlands 2 or the Pre-Sequel, you’ll need an additional 35GB download as well.

The XCOM 2 Collection cartridge also contains a fraction of the total game – only 8GB – and may require up to 24GB additional downloads.

We don’t have an exact figure for the BioShock Collection, but the small print tells us that "later game contents and add-ons will need to be downloaded" too.

While the inclusion of these AAA games on the Switch is to be welcomed, we’re getting to a point where physical game cartridges simply can’t cope with the amount of data needed to load up modern titles. 

Right now, buying these games on cartridge amounts to little more than bulky redeem code, and will still require you to use up most if not all of the Switch’s 32GB internal storage.

There are, thankfully, plenty of good micro SD cards for Nintendo Switch worth considering, which can expand your storage capacity several times over – and we’ve listed some TechRadar-approved options listed below – but it really does defeat the point of a physical release.

Via NintendoLife

Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.

Latest in Nintendo Switch
Samus Aran leaping through space
Metroid Prime 4 tipped to be at the heart of April's Nintendo Switch 2 deep-dive
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 expected to have AI upscaling and I can't wait to finally play Tears of the Kingdom with upgraded graphics
Super Mario Odyssey played on a Nintendo Switch in portable mode
YouTuber seemingly reveals the first hands-on look at the Nintendo Switch 2 and its new magnetic Joy-Cons
Nintendo Switch Pro
To the surprise of absolutely no one, another new look at the Nintendo Switch 2 has seemingly leaked
Nintendo Switch 2
If the Switch 2 can't perform at the same level as the Z1 Extreme Asus ROG Ally even with Nvidia's DLSS, then Nintendo is in trouble
Nintendo Switch 2
New Nintendo Switch 2 leak may have revealed the first look at the new handheld
Latest in News
Girl wearing Meta Quest 3 headset interacting with a jungle playset
Latest Meta Quest 3 software beta teases a major design overhaul and VR screen sharing – and I need these updates now
Microsoft
"Another pair of eyes" - Microsoft launches all-new Security Copilot Agents to give security teams the upper hand
Hatch Restore 3 in Putty
You can finally start your day with The Office theme song, and I couldn't be more excited
Cassian Andor looking nervously over his shoulder in Andor season 2
New Andor season 2 trailer has got Star Wars fans asking the same question – and it includes an ominous call back to Rogue One's official teaser
Ncuti Gatwa as The Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who
Disney+ drops new trailer for Doctor Who season 2 that promises an epic adventure across time and space
23andMe
23andMe is bankrupt and about to sell your DNA, here's how to stop that from happening