Nintendo Switch cartridge chip maker Macronix is quitting ROM for AI memory

Nintendo is set to lose one of its main suppliers of memory for Switch game cards. Macronix, a Taiwanese chipmaker, said on its quarterly earnings call that it will gradually phase out ROM production and focus on NOR flash for data centers, The Verge reports, citing the Taipei Times.

Why Macronix is leaving

The numbers explain it. In Q3 2026 Macronix's ROM revenue fell 39% year over year, while NOR revenue rose 158% and NAND revenue jumped 768%. Chairman and CEO Miin Wu said demand for NOR in data centers is "very robust" and customers are "chasing us for more capacity". The company also expects chip price increases to continue.

What it means for Switch games

Game cards will not disappear overnight: Macronix is phasing ROM out gradually and is not the only company involved in making Switch cartridges. But fewer suppliers can mean higher costs for physical games at a time when memory prices are already climbing.

Nintendo has said it has "no plans" to abandon physical releases; physical titles were 38.5% of its game sales as of August. Sony, by contrast, plans to stop producing physical game discs from January 2028. Macronix's move follows Micron shutting down its Crucial consumer brand to chase AI demand — the same squeeze that is pushing up prices for RAM and SSDs.