Nintendo’s Partner Showcase on February 5th offered a late surprise: Bethesda is bringing some of its biggest catalog names to the Switch 2. Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are all confirmed for Nintendo’s new handheld — but the reaction from players has been anything but uniformly celebratory.
The announcements (quick version)
Todd Howard stopped by the stream to reveal the ports. Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition — the definitive version that bundles the base game, all six expansions and a hefty roster of Creation Club content — is slated to land on Switch 2 on February 24. Oblivion is also headed to the handheld, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will arrive sometime this year.
For Switch 2 owners who wanted more third-party support, this is a clear win. Nintendo’s new handheld has already been gathering momentum among developers and retailers, and the steady flow of ports only underscores that momentum. If you’ve been tracking the console’s release calendar, this feels like the kind of third-party commitment many expected when the system launched; Nintendo’s broader release plan and rising sales helped set that stage. For context, Nintendo recently reconfirmed its Switch 2 release schedule as third-party support surged, and the company has been raising its sales forecast as the console continues to move units (/news/nintendo-switch-2-games-release-plan) (/news/nintendo-switch-2-sales-surge).
Why some players are upset
The biggest noise online has come from Fallout fans, and it’s about price. The Switch 2 eShop listing (at least in the UK) shows Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition at roughly £52.99 — a number that set off a flurry of comments on Reddit and other communities. Critics point out this is essentially a re-release of a 2015 game, even if it includes the expansions and last year’s Anniversary upgrades.
Typical reactions: “It’s crazy that it’s going to cost that much,” wrote one player, noting the game can be found far cheaper on PC during sales. Others urged patience and warned a port like this will inevitably see a discount. The complaint isn’t universal — many players still welcome the idea of playing Fallout on the go — but the price point clearly rubbed a significant chunk of the audience the wrong way.
There are defensible reasons publishers sometimes charge full price for generational ports (platform licensing, fresh QA, optimization work, cartridge and manufacturing logistics, and the complexity of bundled content), but that doesn’t make the public reaction any less heated. The situation highlights a persistent tension in gaming: gamers expect modern ports to be both convenient and reasonably priced, while publishers weigh costs and perceived value.
Cartridges, game key cards, and preservation headaches
One small but meaningful detail emerged after the Direct. Bethesda revealed that both Fallout 4 and Oblivion will be sold as game key cards in physical form — essentially cartridges that store only a launcher and require an internet download to play. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, by contrast, is the only one of the announced Bethesda titles that will ship with the full game data on a traditional cartridge.
That distinction matters to collectors and preservation-minded players. Game key cards reduce manufacturing costs and make physical distribution easier, but they demand an internet connection to install and play. They also raise questions about longevity: if downloads are pulled or servers go dark years from now, game key cards can leave owners with little recourse. Offering Indiana Jones as a full-data cartridge feels like a nod to those concerns — and a rare bit of good news for people who prefer truly standalone physical copies.
What this means for Switch 2 owners
If you’ve been holding out for Fallout or Oblivion on a portable, the headline is simple: they’re coming, and you'll be able to play Fallout in handheld mode beginning February 24. If you care about physical ownership and future-proofing your collection, note which titles are full cartridges and which are key cards before you buy.
For Bethesda and Nintendo, the move keeps a steady stream of big-name content flowing to the platform. For players, it’s a mixed bag: excitement about portability and new releases, coupled with sticker shock and an ongoing debate about the limits of physical media in the streaming age.
If you want to see how other major Switch 2 releases are shaping the platform’s future, Nintendo’s broader release plan is worth a look — the console’s third-party pipeline has been growing steadily (/news/nintendo-switch-2-games-release-plan). And for readers tracking what Nintendo expects from the system commercially, its recent forecast upgrades show why publishers are taking Switch 2 seriously (/news/nintendo-switch-2-sales-surge).
Questions remain: will Fallout 4 see a price drop during a seasonal sale? Will Bethesda offer a discounted cross-buy for players who already own the Anniversary Edition on other platforms? Those answers will probably determine whether the chatter turns into real buyer hesitation or a temporary online kerfuffle.
Either way, the Switch 2’s library just got a little richer — and the conversation around modern ports, physical formats, and fair pricing is far from over.