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Nintendo Switch 2 File Sizes Demand a Storage Plan Before August

Nintendo Switch Game File Sizes
Pixel Perfect
Pixel Perfect
Published
7/26/2026
Read Time
5 min

The newest Nintendo Switch 2 download sizes put Final Fantasy 14 at 117.2GB and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 at 45.8GB, making storage planning and microSD Express choices harder to ignore.

Nintendo Switch Game File Sizes

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117.2GB is the new stress test for Switch 2 storage

The latest Nintendo Switch 2 file sizes listed through eShop roundups put Final Fantasy 14 Online at 117.2GB, a number large enough to change how players should think about the next wave of downloads. NintendoEverything’s July 26 roundup, based on eShop listings, places Square Enix’s MMO at the top of the new Switch 2 list, ahead of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at 45.8GB and Blue Reflection Quartet at 34.7GB.

Shane the Gamer separately reports that Nintendo’s official US storefront lists Final Fantasy 14 Online at 117.2GB, matching the size Square Enix had been quoting for the Switch 2 version. The same report says the Switch 2 version is due on August 4. For a console that Attract Mode reports ships with 256GB of internal storage, that single download represents roughly 46 percent of the raw built-in capacity before considering anything else installed on the system.

That is the practical tension in the newest Switch 2 download sizes. A player planning around one giant service game, one upgraded RPG, and a handful of smaller releases is no longer managing clutter. They are deciding which parts of a library get to stay resident.

The newest listings can nearly fill a clean 256GB system

Taken as a group, the July 26 Switch 2 eShop sizes reported by NintendoEverything add up quickly. Final Fantasy 14 Online at 117.2GB, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at 45.8GB, Blue Reflection Quartet at 34.7GB, Truxton Extreme at 9.8GB, the two Prince of Tennis Switch 2 editions at 5.7GB and 5.6GB, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel at 3.6GB, Ira at 1.9GB, Constance at 1.5GB, Valkyrie Saga at 750MB, and Bokura at 300MB total about 226GB.

That arithmetic uses the listed file sizes and a simple 256GB internal storage figure from Attract Mode’s Switch 2 storage guide. It does not account for reserved system space, updates, save data, screenshots, video captures, or any previous downloads. Even under that generous raw-capacity view, the July 26 Switch 2 batch would leave less than 30GB if a player tried to install everything in that roundup.

The pressure becomes clearer when the previous NintendoEverything roundup from July 19 is added. That earlier Switch 2 list included Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster at 27.8GB, Unbeatable at 14.4GB, Disgaea Mayhem at 2.0GB, Pit Panic at 1.3GB, and Memory of Memorie: A Chill Story - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at 1.1GB. It also listed Splatoon Raiders at “13.1,” with the unit omitted in the provided text while the surrounding entries are presented in GB. If treated as 13.1GB, that July 19 Switch 2 group totals about 59.7GB. Combined with the July 26 group, the two recent Switch 2 roundups reach roughly 286GB, which is already beyond the reported 256GB built-in capacity before any system overhead is considered.

Big RPGs set the ceiling, but mid-size games create the squeeze

The obvious storage villain is Final Fantasy 14 Online, and fairly so. A 117.2GB MMO is a different planning problem than a 20GB boxed-era remaster or a compact indie platformer. Shane the Gamer notes that Final Fantasy 14’s size reflects years of accumulated content and expansions, while also reporting that the base installer size stays the same regardless of whether buyers choose Starter, Complete, or Complete Collector’s Editions.

But Switch 2 storage pressure is not created by the largest download alone. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at 45.8GB and Blue Reflection Quartet at 34.7GB are the games that turn a big single install into a hard choice. Add Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster at 27.8GB from the July 19 list, and those four games alone reach 225.5GB by listed sizes: Final Fantasy 14, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Blue Reflection Quartet, and Final Fantasy 10/10-2.

That leaves very little room for the kind of library many Switch players actually keep: one long RPG, one online staple, a rhythm game, a roguelite, a cozy puzzle game, and a few demos or impulse buys. Unbeatable at 14.4GB is not huge beside Final Fantasy 14, but it is large enough to matter once the top shelf is occupied. Splatoon Raiders, listed by NintendoEverything at 13.1 with the unit missing from the supplied text, falls into the same planning tier if that figure is in GB. These are the downloads that do not look scary on their own, then quietly decide whether a weekend install succeeds.

What to clear before the next wave of installs

For players downloading Final Fantasy 14 Online on Switch 2, the cleanest practical target is obvious: have more than 117.2GB free before starting. The listed size is already larger than many full console games, and clearing only a few small indies will not be enough unless the system is already mostly empty.

If Final Fantasy 14 is paired with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, the two listed sizes add up to 163GB. Add Blue Reflection Quartet and the total becomes 197.7GB. Add Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster from the prior eShop roundup and the total reaches 225.5GB. On a reported 256GB internal drive, that is the difference between planning ahead and playing storage Tetris at the download screen.

Attract Mode’s storage guide gives a useful comparison point for what players may need to remove. It reports Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade at 90GB to 100GB, Split Fiction at 70GB, Cyberpunk 2077 at 60GB, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment at 44GB. If those games are already installed, deleting one 44GB or 60GB title may solve a Xenoblade-sized problem, but it will not by itself cover Final Fantasy 14’s 117.2GB requirement. A 70GB install plus several mid-size games may be the more realistic trade.

Players who mainly buy smaller games have an easier path. Constance is listed at 1.5GB, Ira at 1.9GB, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel at 3.6GB, Valkyrie Saga at 750MB, and Bokura at 300MB in NintendoEverything’s latest Switch 2 roundup. Those are the kinds of games that make the system feel lively between major releases, and they are also the first reminder that file size is not a measure of craft. Still, deleting five tiny discoveries rarely creates the same space as removing one modern RPG.

microSD Express is the upgrade path, but old Switch cards are out

The storage question is also a hardware compatibility question. Attract Mode reports that Nintendo Switch 2 requires microSD Express cards and is not compatible with standard microSD, microSDHC, or microSDXC cards used with the original Switch. That makes microSD Express Switch 2 planning a separate budget issue for anyone carrying over a digital library mindset from Nintendo’s previous system.

The same Attract Mode guide describes microSD Express as a newer removable storage format using PCIe and NVMe protocols for higher performance, and says the faster standard is part of why Switch 2 uses it for demanding modern games. It also reports that a 512GB Onn microSD Express card was available for $84.77 at the time of its deal coverage, below the typical price it cited for that capacity.

The practical math is simple even if the purchase is not. A 512GB expansion added to a 256GB system raises the raw combined capacity to 768GB. That changes Final Fantasy 14 from a system-defining burden into a large resident game. It also gives players room to keep an RPG, an online game, a remaster, and a rotating shelf of smaller releases without deleting something every time a new eShop listing goes live.

Small games still deserve space in the plan

There is a nice little truth hiding underneath the scarier numbers: the Switch identity still works best when big adventures and smaller curiosities coexist. NintendoEverything’s July 26 list puts Constance at 1.5GB, Bokura at 300MB, Ira at 1.9GB, and Valkyrie Saga at 750MB. The July 19 list includes Pit Panic at 1.3GB and Memory of Memorie: A Chill Story - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at 1.1GB.

For platformer and indie players, those numbers matter because they let the system keep its sense of discovery. A 117.2GB MMO asks for commitment. A 1.5GB platformer or a 300MB co-op oddity asks for curiosity. The storage plan should make room for both, especially on a handheld-hybrid system where the joy often comes from swapping between a long-form RPG and a clever, compact game before bed.

That does not mean every small download should stay installed forever. It means players should stop treating storage cleanup as a panic button. If Final Fantasy 14, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, or Blue Reflection Quartet is on the calendar, decide in advance which large games are archived and which smaller games are part of the current rotation. The best library is the one that leaves room for the next surprise.

A sensible install order before August

Based on the reported dates and listings, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is the first major storage checkpoint, with Shane the Gamer reporting a July 30 arrival and a 45.8GB size from Nintendo’s Australian eShop listing. Final Fantasy 14 Online follows as the larger test, with Shane the Gamer reporting an August 4 Switch 2 launch and a 117.2GB size on Nintendo’s US storefront.

If you plan to play both at launch, treat 163GB as the minimum listed-space commitment. If Blue Reflection Quartet is also on your list, plan around 197.7GB. If Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster is part of the same rotation, the four-game total rises to 225.5GB. Those totals are based on reported listing sizes, not a promise about final post-update storage use.

The safest reader guidance from the available source material is to make the decision before the download day. Players staying on internal storage should clear one or two large games rather than shaving away only tiny releases. Players who want several big Switch 2 games installed at once should price out a microSD Express card, remembering that Attract Mode reports older original Switch microSD cards are incompatible. The newest Nintendo Switch 2 file sizes are not a crisis for every player, but they are a clear signal that storage planning now belongs next to release dates, prices, and playtime when deciding what to buy next.

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