Macronix, one of the companies supplying ROM chips for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 cartridges, is pulling out of ROM production, and that doesn't look good for anyone who collects physical games.

ROM (read-only memory) chips are components in those cartridges. Eurogamer reported that analyst David Gibson flagged the news on X, and that Macronix announced it on its latest earnings call. Per Eurogamer, the plan is to phase out ROM entirely by the end of Q3 in its 2026 financial year.

Why Macronix is stepping away

Eurogamer says ROM is now only 5 percent of Macronix's business, compared with 26 percent a year earlier.

The Verge, citing the Taipei Times, puts the Q3 2026 ROM revenue drop at 39 percent year on year. Over the same period, NOR flash revenue rose 158 percent and NAND memory revenue jumped 768 percent.

Chairman and CEO Miin Wu said on the call that "demand for NOR used in data centers is very robust." Manufacturing capacity is shifting towards NOR flash for data centres instead.

What it could mean for Switch 2 cartridges

Macronix isn't Nintendo's only source. Eurogamer says the company also buys ROM parts from Rohm Co. (Oki Semiconductor). Even so, losing a major supplier adds strain to a supply that was already tight, which could mean higher prices.

Gibson also suggested more publishers, Nintendo included, might lean on Game-Key Cards, which skip the cartridge and its cost. Tom's Hardware lists three possible outcomes: pricier cartridges, more Game-Key Cards, or a bigger push towards digital. With Game-Key Cards on the rise, it's been ages since I last picked up a boxed game myself.

Eurogamer adds that the move is probably another knock-on effect of the global squeeze on memory and storage driven by data-centre demand, though that isn't stated directly. Micron shut down its Crucial consumer brand nearly a year ago for similar reasons.

Nintendo said recently that it has "no plans" to ditch physical games, according to The Verge. Sony, meanwhile, will stop making discs from January 2028. Physical titles made up 38.5 percent of Nintendo's game sales, a figure the company gave in August.

My Switch 2 shelf is still empty of cartridges, even if the original Switch has a fair few. No hate if physical is your thing; it just stopped being mine.