Expansion Bay research 01
The same game. A bigger file.
We compared the file sizes Nintendo lists for the same games on Switch and Switch 2. Every Switch 2 version in this sample is larger.
paired Nintendo Store files are larger on Switch 2
- Median increase
- +7.5 GB
- Median file ratio
- 1.85×
Official store listings, not observed installs. Each source record keeps its own checked date in the downloadable data.
The practical limit
Twelve games already fill the whole console.
The paired Switch 2 listings add up to 256.1 GB. Nintendo advertises 256 GB internally and says a portion is reserved for the system. This set cannot all fit there at once.
The same 12 games on Switch
142.4 GBThe same 12 games on Switch 2
256.1 GBAdded between versions
That is extra room the same set needs before saves, screenshots, updates, or another game.
Paired comparison
What changed between generations?
These are the figures Nintendo publishes for each version. The difference can include enhanced assets and edition-specific content. It is not a measurement of your installed copy.
Current storage economics
The price of room you can play from.
If your games already fit, added storage costs $0. When they do not, the real expense is the full card or SSD at checkout. Price per terabyte helps compare that purchase, but it is not a separate fee for each game.
Loading the current price snapshot…
One game, three numbers
A download is not the whole footprint.
Bungie publishes the current Destiny 2 file size, the Update 9.7.0 download, and the space required for preload separately. Collapsing them into one number creates the wrong storage answer.
Check an update-space warningPlayStation 5
- Update 9.7.0 download
- 27.5 GB
- Current file size
- 179.2 GB
- Preload space
- 179.2 GB
Xbox Series X|S
- Update 9.7.0 download
- 39.3 GB
- Current file size
- 195.4 GB
- Preload space
- 195.4 GB
Method
39 source records
22 games
4 platforms
What this sample does and does not claim
Primary sources only
Nintendo rows come from the US Nintendo Store. Destiny 2 rows come from Bungie support. Each row keeps its source URL.
Listed is not measured
Nintendo's game file size is a store listing. We do not relabel it as an observed install or assume every region and language matches.
No planning estimates
Unreleased-game allowances from our calculators are excluded. The paired finding uses only released games with both sizes on one source page.
History is append-only
A changed source creates a new row that supersedes the prior one. It does not silently rewrite the historical record.
Reuse terms
Expansion Bay's original compilation and analysis are available under CC BY 4.0. Third-party source pages remain subject to their own terms.
Want to inspect or cite the records? The CSV is generated from the same observations as every figure on this page.
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