It seems that releasing a game physically for the Nintendo Switch is a pricey affair. Tequila Works’ Rime, which was originally announced to cost an additional $10 on the Switch, is one example of this.
Grey Box, the game’s publisher, says that the price for the digital Switch release of Rime would drop from its originally announced $39.99 to match other consoles at $29.99, but the publisher says that it can’t afford to give the physical version the same treatment without selling the game at a loss.
This lines up with earlier reports that manufacturing Switch cartridges is an expensive process on its own, something that game developers should keep in mind when considering bringing a game to Nintendo’s latest console.
As when the prices were first announced, Grey Box didn’t dive into specifics about the reason for the disparity but did note in a blog post that the price hike was to counteract “the additional development, manufacturing, and publishing costs involved” with Rime’s Switch port.
“On the physical side, we can’t lower the price without selling at a loss,” noted Grey Box. Instead, the publisher is including copies of the game’s soundtrack, which retails for $10 on its own, with physical Switch copies in hopes of adding more value to the package.