Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is finally getting a physical Switch 2 release, and it’s not a game-key card

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds didn’t cause a commotion when it launched last year, but it quietly became a compelling alternative to Mario Kart World’s offerings, which many felt were on the simpler (albeit extremely polished) side. Now, a little over a month since the native Nintendo Switch 2 version arrived digitally, we’ve got confirmation the physical release is coming in March.

Sega dropped the long-awaited news on 13th January, confirming the date you need to mark on the calendar is 26th March. The suggested retail price is $69.99 / £64.99, same as the digital version of CrossWorlds. Perhaps more convincing is the fact the complete base game will be on a regular cartridge versus a game-key card. Mind you, patches and content updates still need to be downloaded, but we know many of you will celebrate.

Though some developers have gone on to explain game-key cards enable them to do true physical releases (better than codes in boxes for sure) while avoiding the “data streaming” limitations of the Switch carts, which are slower than Switch 2’s internal SSD and microSD cards, there’s been a vocal crusade against third-party releases that aren’t 100 percent physical.

This has reportedly pushed Nintendo to look into alternatives, but for now, you can lend and sell game-key cards without issue, as they’re rather similar to PlayStation and Xbox discs that only come with part of the games on them. It’s more of a distant future-proofing issue.

In any case, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ sales should see another boost with this physical release, as many fans of the off-beat racing series were waiting for a Switch 2 release they could add to their physical collection. (It’s me, I’m fans.)

Since its September 2025 release, the game has welcomed free crossover characters like Hatsune Miku (really), Joker from Persona, Ichiban Kasuga from Like a Dragon, and even NiGHTS from the underrated series of the same name. Paid content has included Pac-Man, Minecraft content, and even SpongeBob SquarePants. Up next, Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Avatar (the Nickelodeon one) will be making a splash too.