Minecraft is getting a native Nintendo Switch 2 release on October 27—but while Mojang is letting anyone who bought the original Switch version digitally claim the new Standard Edition for free, players who own the game on a physical Switch cartridge haven’t been offered anything. Effectively, that means they’ll pay the full $29.99 like a brand-new buyer. That puts Minecraft in an oddly contentious spot, where the same game bought two different ways now comes with two very different upgrade deals.
Already, several cartridge owners have noticed the unfortunate discrepancy, and several have gone to Mojang’s official feedback site to ask for the same treatment digital buyers are getting. The frustration is easy to understand, too, since a number of other Switch 2 releases already check for a physical copy before handing out an upgrade. In fact, Mojang’s cartridge decision is even harder to explain because it has solved this exact problem before, with the very same game.
Who Actually Qualifies for Minecraft’s Free Upgrade
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Image via Mojang, Nintendo -
Image via Mojang -
Image via Mojang
To be specific, according to Mojang’s announcement on the official Minecraft site, the free Minecraft upgrade claim runs only through the Nintendo eShop and is available until January 31, 2027. Digital owners can also move up to the Deluxe or Ultimate Collection at a discount, while players in Japan and Taiwan pay a small fee for the Standard Edition. Everyone else pays $29.99, $39.99, or $49.99, depending on the edition.
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The notable irony here is that the new retail version is a game-key card, so even a fresh physical purchase ends in a download. So, by “everyone else,” I really mean that existing cartridge owners have been offered no upgrade path and seemingly no explanation for it. For players who picked a cartridge on the original Switch, that choice has now cost them a free upgrade.
Minecraft on Switch 2 Is a Real Upgrade
What’s unfortunate is that the upgrade is worth having, too. The Switch 2 version runs Vibrant Visuals by default, bringing the enhanced lighting and shadows the original Switch never supported, even in the Mario Mash-Up pack that’s exclusive to Nintendo consoles. One poster on the feedback site pointed out that many physical buyers paid as much as digital buyers for their copy, if not more, stating, “we shouldn’t be excluded as equal or higher-paying customers.”
Mojang Already Dealt With Upgrades on PS5
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Image via Mojang -
Image via Mojang -
Image via Mojang
What makes this all the more confusing is that when Mojang released the native PS5 version of Minecraft in October 2024, every PS4 Bedrock owner got it for free. Digital players downloaded it from the PlayStation Store, while disc owners could play the PS5 version as long as their PS4 disc was in the console. It was a tidy, proven solution, and now the same company is drawing a firmer line with the same game on Switch 2.
There’s also somewhat of a precedent for this sort of move on the Switch 2 itself. Hogwarts Legacy, which also launched as a separate Switch 2 version, lets owners insert their original cartridge to unlock a discounted upgrade that afterward runs without the cartridge. Another feedback poster, who says they’ve bought Minecraft on Vita, Xbox One, Android, and Switch twice, pointed to exactly this:
Plenty of other games have done it. I have games that literally do it where it got the Switch 2 upgrade, and you have to put the cartridge in order for the upgrade to be accessible. As someone who got the Switch 2 beta even though my copy on Switch is physical, this is incredibly unfair.
The Beta Testers Who Can’t Keep What They Tested
The beta testing element that the user above mentioned also adds a bit of a sting to the situation. Ahead of the upcoming launch, Mojang really did let physical owners into the Switch 2 beta, and several commenters in the same thread have lamented that they spent hours testing the game and submitting feedback. Now, as they face paying full price for the version they helped shape, it’s hard not to see that as a bit of an affront.
The One Argument for the Cartridge Cutoff
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Image via Mojang -
image via Mojang -
Image via Mojang
Mojang hasn’t given a reason for leaving Switch cartridges out, but I think it’s safe to say that resale is one of the most likely concerns. See, a Switch cartridge can be lent, traded, or sold, and if one copy could unlock free digital versions on account after account, the offer would be easy to abuse. That’s a reasonable worry; it’s at least the strongest case for Mojang’s approach.
Yet, even that is also a problem with obvious fixes. Mojang could limit redemption to one per Nintendo or Microsoft account, as one commenter suggested, or require the Minecraft cartridge to be inserted, exactly as it did with PS4 discs. Without a stated technical hurdle, the poster behind the “upgrade path” thread argues the split comes “…with no technical justification for choosing this option…”
Ultimately, it’s pretty clear that two people who paid roughly the same money for the same game shouldn’t walk away with different upgrade deals because one of them decided to back a physical cartridge. Especially when Mojang has already shown it can verify a physical copy and reward it, and other Switch 2 publishers are doing the same right now. With more than three months left on the offer, though, there’s still time to hope and lobby for Mojang and Nintendo to bring cartridge owners along; the Minecraft PS5 playbook is sitting right there, after all.
- Released
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November 18, 2011
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
