The highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 launched with 46 games in its debut week beginning June 5, and while the Nintendo franchise games like Mario Kart World and new editions of some Legend of Zelda games took the lions share of interest, an unlikely (at least for me) dark horse came to be the biggest thing on the console outside of Nintendo's own.

Cyberpunk 2077.

CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077: The Ultimate Edition was the best-selling third party game during the launch week of Nintendo Switch 2 (Imagine people buying the console and a game to go with it), according to Nielsen IQ. This beats out the likes of new titles like Civilization VII, as well as titles such as Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Split Fiction, Hitman: World of Assassination - Signature Edition, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster, and even the biggest selling game in the past five years - 2023's Hogwart's Legacy. 

Cyberpunk 2077 has been out for other consoles three years longer than Hogwart's Legacy has, but despite that as both debut with Nintendo Switch 2 editions it's the more adult, less dovetailing-into-an-uber-popular movie franchise, winning out.

Related: The Nintendo Switch 2 has sold more units in the first week than the Switch did in its first month

And for us fans of physical media, The Games Business' Christopher Dring reports that of the Switch 2 games released both physically and digitally, 80% of the sales of those games came from people buying the physical media that's 4 out of 5 people choosing to by the physical discs when they can. This comes at a time when more and more games you buy physical copies of require you to download the rest of the game when you insert the cartridge or disc in for the first time; it's become such a thing that they have a term for it 'game key cards.' Cyberpunk 2077 however, doesn't do that - unlike most of the other third-party games on the Switch 2.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 runs off the cartridge itself, and its something CD Projekt Red was boasting a month before the system debuted.

“A plug and play experience is a really cool thing. We've already seen from the original Switch that Nintendo players are quite receptive to that," says Jan Rosner, the company's senior business development manager. "Do not underestimate the physical edition. It's not going anywhere and Nintendo players are very appreciative of physical editions that are done right.”

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
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