Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition was part of the first batch of games revealed to be part of the Nintendo Switch 2 lineup last year, but it has yet to be released. Developer FromSoftware delayed the game from its initial 2025 release, but on Thursday, preorders opened at retailers. Some gamers, however, are not happy with the news, although not for the reason one might expect. 

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition will cost $80, according to the preorder listings, although there is still no release date confirmed. The Switch 2 version includes the 2022 base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which costs the same price on other platforms. What’s different with the Switch 2 version and the others is that it comes on a Game-Key Card, which is causing ire among gamers. 

Game-Key Cards are Nintendo’s solution for storing larger games. Since the Switch 2 still uses cartridges, a game like Elden Ring would need carts with enough storage for the whole game, which, according to the game’s box, is 75GB. A cart to fit the size of a game would have significant hardware costs, especially considering the current storage shortage. 

To offset the cost of a cart, Nintendo created Game-Key Cards, cartridges that don’t contain the game, just enough to validate the game with Nintendo’s servers and allow it to be downloaded to the Switch 2. Once the game is downloaded to the Switch 2 and the cartridge is inserted, it will not need an internet connection to play it. 

Why are people upset about the Game-Key Card feature? 

While the Game-Key Card feature helps reduce the cost of releasing a physical game, it also prevents the purchaser from actually owning a physical copy. There is growing concern about the lack of ownership of video games, as more publishers delist games, meaning removing them from storefronts. Once a game is delisted from an online store, it’s almost impossible to redownload that game to another device. PUBG for the PS4 and Xbox One was released in 2018, for example, but the publisher announced it would no longer support those versions, rendering them unplayable. 

A consumer movement called Stop Killing Games aims to challenge the legal right of game companies to essentially destroy the games purchased by consumers. It has made strides in both the UK and EU, with hopes that the respective legislative bodies will pass consumer-protection laws to prevent companies from disabling games that have already been purchased. 

Will the digital version of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition be cheaper? 

Starting with the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May, Nintendo will charge $10 less for a digital version of its games, which means a $70 physical game would cost $60 if purchased from Nintendo digitally. It’s unclear if other publishers will follow suit. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition does have a listing on Nintendo’s website, but there is no price yet. 

What’s new in Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition? 

When publisher Bandai Namco revealed the Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring, it confirmed there would be some new content, although not very much. This includes new armor, weapons and customization features for Torrent’s appearance. There will also be two additional starter classes: the Knight of Idis, who is faster and more agile, and the Heavy Knight, who, as the name implies, wears heavy armor and starts with a greatsword. 

Adding new starter classes to the game doesn’t change much, as players can change their stats, equipment and abilities as they play, meaning a class that starts off relying on magic could end up using heavy weapons and vice versa. Fans of the game, however, could get a morsel of new lore information from these new classes, as each starter character has their own backstory that offers a sliver of detail to the world of Elden Ring. 

Bandai Namco says the new content in the Tarnished Edition will make its way to other platforms via a Tarnished Pack DLC that will be available at the same time as this version of the game. The publisher has yet to announce a price for the DLC, but it’s expected to cost $10.