Final Fantasy XIV’s 117GB Switch 2 Size Meets a Chip Shortage

Final Fantasy XIV Online will need 117.2 gigabytes of Nintendo Switch 2 storage when it launches on Aug. 4, 2026, according to Nintendo’s own eShop listing for the game. That is enough to erase nearly half the console’s built in 256 GB of memory in a single install. Square Enix confirmed the port during the FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in Berlin, and the file size makes it the largest standalone game the console has seen.

That download collides with a separate fight over memory chips, one that AI data centers are currently winning. TrendForce, the semiconductor research firm, has tracked NAND flash contract prices surging through 2026, squeezing supply of the same MicroSD Express cards Switch 2 owners need just to make room for the game.

How Much Switch 2 Storage Does Final Fantasy XIV Need?

Final Fantasy XIV Online’s Switch 2 version installs at 117.2 GB, close to 46 percent of the console’s 256 GB of built in storage, per Nintendo’s own product listing. That makes it the biggest standalone game on Switch 2 yet, bigger than Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s roughly 102 GB, though still short of the three game Kingdom Hearts Collection [I-III] at 131 GB.

The number reflects more than a decade of accumulated content. Voiced cutscenes, high resolution textures and expansions such as Dawntrail have steadily added to the game’s footprint since its 2013 relaunch. Square Enix also built a single unified installer for the console release, so the Starter Edition, the Complete Edition and the Complete Collector’s Edition all pull down the identical 117.2 GB regardless of which one a player buys.

The Portable Upside

This does not change what Square Enix is actually delivering: a subscription MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) that has lived almost entirely on desktops and consoles docked to a TV, now playable on a handheld screen. According to the game’s official site, Final Fantasy XIV has attracted more than 30 million players worldwide and collected over 200 industry awards since launch.

Content creator Stealth40k first flagged the 117 GB figure on X, and Nintendo’s own storefront listing has since confirmed a nearly identical size. For players who have wanted to explore Eorzea away from a desk, that confirmation matters more than the storage math. It just comes with a cost attached.

The AI Data Centers Bidding Against Switch 2 Owners

MicroSD Express cards are the fix for owners who run out of room, but the market for them has been reshaped by a buyer who has nothing to do with gaming. Enterprise AI servers now consume the bulk of global NAND flash output, and manufacturers have followed the money.

• 100%+: cumulative NAND flash contract price increase in the first half of 2026, according to TrendForce’s tracking of first half contract prices.
• 10 to 15%: additional quarterly NAND flash price rise TrendForce forecasts for the third quarter of 2026, even as consumer demand softens.
• 20 to 30%: the 2026 price hike Samsung was reportedly weighing as far back as November 2025, when NAND supply was already tightening.
• 14%: the drop in SanDisk shares as the AI memory trade took a hit on Wall Street, even as flash prices for ordinary buyers kept climbing.

“Record-high contract prices mean customers from consumer markets, such as PCs and smartphones, are reaching their affordability limit,” TrendForce said in its July pricing outlook. That is a research firm’s way of saying gamers are running out of room to absorb the same cost increases AI infrastructure spending has already forced through.

MicroSD Express Prices Still Have Not Found a Floor

The consumer numbers back that up. A SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB card that sold for around $30 at the start of 2026 was running near $52 by March, according to storage buying guide PhotoWorkout. Citigroup has projected average NAND prices climbing 186 percent across all of 2026, with tightness expected to persist beyond 2027.

Deals do still surface. A Samsung officially licensed 256GB Switch 2 Express card hit a low of $39.99 at Target in late June, and outlets covering Switch 2 accessories note that more manufacturers have entered the market since launch. But the broader trend for Express cards has moved the other way since March, driven mostly by the same AI boom squeezing flash supply everywhere else.

Nintendo has not indicated that a higher capacity Switch 2 model is coming. For now, 256 GB is what every owner has to work with, whether or not they can find an affordable card to stretch it.

A Subscription Bill Stacks on Top of the Storage Bill

Storage is only the first cost. Final Fantasy XIV on Switch 2 also requires an ongoing subscription after an optional free trial, the same model the game uses on every other platform. A new or returning player budgeting for the port needs to account for several separate expenses.

• The 117.2 GB base download itself, which alone can claim nearly half of the console’s fixed 256 GB.
• A MicroSD Express card, if built in storage runs short, priced well above where the category sat a year ago.
• A recurring monthly subscription once the free trial period ends.
• A separate Switch 2 specific subscription purchase, even for players who already pay for Final Fantasy XIV on PlayStation, Xbox or PC.

Existing players can carry their character progression over to the new platform. They just cannot carry over the billing. Square Enix requires the fresh Switch 2 subscription regardless of what a player already pays elsewhere.

Evercold Adds to an Already Full Drive

The storage math only gets tighter from here. Producer and director Naoki Yoshida unveiled Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold, the game’s sixth expansion, during the FFXIV Fan Festival keynote in Anaheim in April 2026, confirmed in Square Enix’s own announcement of the January 2027 launch. Evercold opens a new story arc called the Godless Realms Saga and adds two new jobs, a new region and the Evolved Mode combat system on top of the current install.

Square Enix also teased an Evangelion crossover raid at the same festival, another sign that content, and the storage it requires, keeps arriving on a schedule that has nothing to do with what fits on a 256 GB console. Nintendo still has not said a bigger Switch 2 is on the way, and Evercold ships in January 2027 regardless.