Nintendo Switch cartridge ROM maker Macronix leaves the business: what changes
By Pooja MehraIndustry Trends Analyst, Peepals Tech
Representative image: bluebudgie / Pixabay
Macronix, a main maker of ROM chips for Nintendo Switch game cards, is phasing out ROM production; Nintendo says it has no plans to drop physical games.
What Happened
Macronix International, the Taiwanese chipmaker that supplies many of the read-only memory (ROM) chips inside Nintendo Switch game cartridges, is gradually leaving the ROM business. Chairman Miin Wu told investors on the company's third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, that Macronix is phasing out ROM production and moving capacity to other memory products. Gaming outlets picked up the news this week, making the Nintendo Switch cartridge ROM manufacturer's exit a search trend in the United States. Nintendo has said it has no plans to stop selling physical games.
Key Facts
- Company: Macronix International, Taiwan, a maker of memory chips; ROM is memory that is written once at the factory and then only read, which is how game data is stored on a cartridge.
- Decision: Macronix is gradually winding down ROM production and will stop developing new ROM products, chairman Miin Wu said on the 27 October earnings call.
- Shrinking business: ROM made up about 5% of Macronix's sales in the third quarter of 2026, down from 26% a year earlier.
- Reporting change: Macronix will no longer report ROM as a separate category after the current quarter.
- New focus: the company is moving capacity towards flash memory; Taiwanese trade reports said it was betting about NT$30 billion on eMMC NAND, a type of flash storage.
- Switch 2: reports differ on the impact; several say Switch 2 game cards use NAND flash memory, which Macronix is not phasing out, so the original Switch is more likely to be affected.
- Supply: Macronix is not Nintendo's only cartridge supplier, and Nintendo has told reporters it has no plans to drop physical games.
Why It Matters
Physical game cartridges are one of the few parts of console gaming that still depend on a small number of specialist chip suppliers. When a major supplier leaves, it raises questions about cost and availability for future production, especially for older systems. For buyers, physical cartridges also matter for reasons beyond collecting: they can be resold, lent to friends and played without large downloads, which helps players with slow internet or data limits.
Macronix's move reflects a wider shift in the memory industry. Demand for storage used in data centres and AI systems is high, and chipmakers are moving their factories towards the products that earn the most. A business that has shrunk from about a quarter of sales to a twentieth in one year is an easy one to cut.
For now, the practical impact for players looks limited. Nintendo says physical games will continue, other suppliers exist, and the newer Switch 2 reportedly relies on a different type of memory. The bigger questions are about the long term: whether cartridge prices rise as supply narrows, and whether more publishers shift to download codes in the box rather than full games on the cartridge.
Peepals calculation: ROM's share of Macronix's sales fell from 26% to about 5% in a year, a drop of 21 percentage points (26 − 5); the share is now roughly one-fifth of what it was (5 ÷ 26 = 0.19), a fall of about 81%. Our calculation from the reported figures.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | Macronix International (Taiwan) |
| ROM share of sales, Q3 2025 | 26% |
| ROM share of sales, Q3 2026 | About 5% |
| New focus | Flash memory (NAND) |
| Nintendo's position | No plans to drop physical games |
Impact
Short-term: Nothing changes on store shelves right away. Existing games and planned releases are not affected by a gradual phase-out, and Nintendo has other suppliers.
Long-term: With one of the main ROM makers leaving, cartridge supply for the original Switch could become more concentrated, which may affect costs. The move also adds to industry pressure towards digital and download-based games.
Who is affected: Nintendo and game publishers that release physical Switch games; players and collectors who prefer cartridges, including in India; and memory chip buyers in data centres, where Macronix is moving its capacity.
Key Takeaway
Macronix is gradually leaving the ROM chip business that supplies Nintendo Switch cartridges, after ROM shrank to about 5% of its sales, but Nintendo says physical games will continue.
Questions and Answers
Which Nintendo Switch cartridge manufacturer is leaving?
Macronix International of Taiwan, a major supplier of ROM chips used in Switch game cartridges, said on 27 October 2026 that it is gradually phasing out ROM production.
Will Nintendo stop selling physical Switch games?
No. Nintendo has said it has no plans to drop physical games, and Macronix is not its only cartridge supplier.
Are Switch 2 cartridges affected?
Reports differ, but several say Switch 2 game cards use NAND flash memory, which Macronix is not phasing out, so the original Switch is more likely to be affected.
Why is Macronix leaving the ROM business?
ROM fell to about 5% of its sales in the third quarter of 2026, from 26% a year earlier, and the company is moving capacity to flash memory, where demand is stronger.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Pooja Mehra, Industry Trends AnalystCovers Industry News & Trends and more for Peepals Tech. All stories by Pooja Mehra
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Pooja Mehra is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
