It has to be microSD Express. Nintendo says the Switch 2 is only compatible with microSD Express cards; a card from an original Switch, however fast, will not save or load games. It can only be used to import old screenshots and videos.
Look for the "EX" mark on the card and the words microSD Express on the packet. Nintendo supports them up to 2TB. The console itself has 256GB built in, and big games fill that quickly.
| Card | A small indie game (2GB) | A typical Switch 2 title (12GB) | A large first-party game (25GB) | The biggest current releases (60GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128GB | 63 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| 256GB | 127 | 21 | 10 | 4 |
| 512GB | 254 | 42 | 20 | 8 |
| 1TB | 497 | 82 | 39 | 16 |
| 2TB | 994 | 165 | 79 | 33 |
256GB doubles the storage and suits a few big games at a time. 512GB is the comfortable size for a mostly digital library. 1TB means rarely deleting anything.
Every microSD Express card is far faster than the console needs for loading games, so choose on capacity, price and a brand you trust rather than on the speed on the packet.
V30 · guaranteed 30MB/s write · 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
The only kind of card a Nintendo Switch 2 will run games from. PCIe inside a microSD shell, and priced accordingly.
Price not checked — see the note below.
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V30 · guaranteed 30MB/s write · 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
The other current microSD Express card, and the only one sold at 1TB.
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microSD Express · up to 800MB/s read, 200MB/s write · 256GB, 512GB
Samsung's microSD Express card, sold in 256GB and 512GB. Samsung's launch figures; Nintendo also sells a Samsung Express card branded for the Switch 2.
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Add a card. A 256GB console holds about 21 typical games before something has to go, and the card is the thing that is hardest to get right after Christmas Day, when the shops have sold out of the one size you wanted.