Switch 2 Third-Party Performance: A Mixed Review

The Nintendo Switch 2 is off to a powerful start, having sold 3.5 million consoles. Beyond playing Mario Kart World, have you purchased many additional games? And how many of those were not developed by Nintendo?

Initial analysis of the console's first-week sales data reveals a mixed performance for third-party software. Naturally, Nintendo’s own titles remain the main draw for its hardware—approximately 80% of Switch 2 units sold so far were bundled with Mario Kart World.

Additionally, Nintendo launched its new system with the bite-sized tech demo and mini-game collection Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour, along with enhanced editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, available as full purchases or upgrades. Of course, existing Switch owners also have full access to their previous game libraries. So it’s perhaps not shocking that third-party Switch 2 games haven’t taken a larger share.

In the UK, 86% of physical game sales during the Switch 2's launch week were first-party titles, including bundled copies of Mario Kart World, according to NielsenIQ data reported by The Game Business. This closely mirrors the 89% first-party share seen during the original Switch’s launch week.

In the US, third-party publishers saw somewhat better results, with first-party titles accounting for 62% of physical game sales during launch week, per Circana. Industry analyst Mat Piscatella notes that the comparable figure for the original Switch’s first month was above 80%.

The top-selling non-Nintendo title during the Switch 2’s debut week was Cyberpunk 2077 from CD Projekt Red. Meanwhile, Sega—which released Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Sonic x Shadow Generations, and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S—ranked as the third-largest publisher for the platform during that period.

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According to The Game Business, one unnamed third-party publisher described their Switch 2 launch sales as "below our lowest estimates," despite the console itself selling strongly. While this is a notable statement, competing against Mario Kart World and the absence of pre-launch reviews for any Switch 2 games makes the outcome less surprising.

Another factor is that the original Switch launched with only five physical titles, while the Switch 2 launched with 13—likely dispersing consumer demand across more options.

Ultimately, Piscatella wrote that solid data on third-party performance will emerge in time, but it's still too early to draw firm conclusions.

"It’s far too soon to declare the Switch 2 a runaway success or failure in any regard," Piscatella concluded. "Heck, the system hasn’t even been out for three weeks."