Key takeaways
- Nintendo doesn't buy ROM chips from Macronix directly: fabless company MegaChips designs them to Nintendo's needs and has Macronix manufacture them, according to Tom's Hardware.
- Macronix's ROM sales fell 39% in a year and now make up 5% of its business, down from 26%, as the company shifts to NOR and NAND flash.
- ROHM Semiconductor and LAPIS Semiconductor still supply ROM chips to Nintendo, so physical Switch games aren't about to vanish.
- Outlets disagree on whether Switch 2 cards are affected, because Engadget says they use NAND flash, which Macronix is keeping.
Macronix, the Taiwanese chipmaker that Engadget and Ars Technica both describe as Nintendo’s main supplier of Switch cartridge memory, is getting out of ROM. The news came from the company’s Q3 2026 earnings, as relayed by the Taipei Times and the Taiwanese site BigGo Finance, and from CEO Miin Wu. Analyst David Gibson of MST Financial flagged it on X on November 4, 2026.
It’s easy to read that as Nintendo losing its chip factory. The real arrangement has more links in it, and the weak link isn’t where you’d expect.
How does a Switch cartridge get made?
Nintendo decides what the memory chip has to do, and a company called MegaChips designs it. MegaChips owns no factory, so it hires someone else to build the chips. According to Tom’s Hardware, that manufacturer has been Macronix.
So the chain runs Nintendo, then MegaChips, then Macronix. Nintendo never places an order with Macronix itself. The reporting doesn’t describe the later steps, such as how the chips are packaged into cards or who assembles the final cartridge, so I won’t guess at them.
What exactly is Macronix quitting?
Macronix is phasing out ROM production. Ars Technica, citing the earnings report via BigGo Finance, says the company told investors that ROM is finished for it and that it will gradually decouple from the game industry. Engadget says the Taipei Times reported it and that Wu confirmed it.
No outlet quotes the original earnings document directly, so the details rest on those relays. The trend behind them is clear, though. Macronix’s ROM sales dropped 39% over the past year. ROM now accounts for 5% of its business, down from 26% a year earlier. Gibson says Macronix won’t bring out any further ROM products, and that Q3 is the final quarter in which it reports ROM sales on their own line.
ROM, NOR and NAND
Three kinds of memory show up in this story, and the coverage doesn’t agree on which one goes where. Ars Technica says ROM is being crowded out by more lucrative chips: NOR flash, NAND flash and eMMC. Those are the products Macronix wants to build more of.
There’s a wrinkle. Gibson says Macronix makes the ROM chips in both Switch 1 and Switch 2 game cards, and Ars describes the squeeze as hitting both. Engadget says Switch 2 cartridges use NAND flash, a segment Macronix isn’t leaving, so Switch 2 wouldn’t be hit quite the same way as the original Switch. Nobody has reconciled those accounts, and the sources don’t explain the technical differences between the memory types in detail. Whether the label ROM even applies to Switch 2 cards is an open question.
Why a cartridge loses out to a data center
It comes down to wafer space. Ars Technica says Macronix’s capacity is stuck at 25,000 12-inch wafers per month, and new capacity will take a year or more to come online. Every wafer spent on a lower-margin ROM chip is a wafer that other chips could use more profitably.
Wu points to where the demand is. Engadget quotes the Macronix CEO saying many new customers have a “demand for NOR used in data centers.” The money follows. Engadget reports a record Q3 2026 net profit of $337 million; no other outlet in the coverage gives that figure.
Gibson says planned capital spending goes entirely to NOR and NAND, with nothing for ROM. Tom’s Hardware, citing the Taipei Times, puts the total at NT$37.8 billion: NT$22 billion for expanding capacity and NT$15.8 billion for NAND flash (eMMC and 3D NAND). Ars separately mentions $1.2 billion in new capacity. Whether those describe the same plan isn’t stated.
Why does one supplier’s exit matter if others exist?
Because the exit lands on the middleman. ROHM Semiconductor and LAPIS Semiconductor, both part of the ROHM group, still supply ROM chips to Nintendo, according to Tom’s Hardware. Since Macronix isn’t the only ROM source, Gibson expects physical cartridges to stick around for a good while yet.
MegaChips is the exposed party. Its 2022 company report put Nintendo at 87.8% of its sales and Macronix at 67.8% of its outsourced manufacturing purchases. It also warned that its results could suffer if Macronix could no longer make ROM chips. Those figures are four years old and may have shifted. Tom’s Hardware says it isn’t aware of any MegaChips contingency plan. Replacing a foundry for a custom design isn’t a matter of flipping a switch, and the coverage gives no timeline.
What this means if you buy physical games
For now, nothing changes on the shelf. The predictions are all speculation. Tom’s Hardware floats three possible outcomes: higher physical game prices, more Game-Key Cards, or a lean toward digital. Gibson expects Nintendo’s digital margins to grow through more Game-Key Cards or digital-only releases. Nintendo hasn’t commented in the coverage.
Digital is already large. Engadget puts it at about 61.5% of Nintendo’s software sales, roughly 85% on PS5 and 96% on Xbox. Nintendo’s physical share is the highest of the three, which makes it the platform where a supply squeeze would be most visible.
If you own a Nintendo Switch 2 or an original Nintendo Switch and care about owning physical copies of your favorites, nothing here says to panic-buy. I’d keep buying physical where the game ships on a full card, and watch prices over the next few quarters. Game-Key Cards, which Gibson mentions, hold a key to a download rather than the game itself.
The squeeze isn’t unique to Nintendo. Ars Technica frames this as the AI-driven memory and storage shortage reaching the cartridge supply chain, after earlier effects on RAM, SSDs and GPU prices and availability.
What nobody has answered yet
Plenty. It isn’t clear whether Macronix’s exit is immediate or follows a wind-down schedule for existing Nintendo orders. Who will manufacture the chips MegaChips designs hasn’t been reported, and neither Nintendo nor MegaChips has said anything publicly in this coverage.
It’s also unknown whether ROHM and LAPIS can make up the volume, or at what cost. And the Switch 2 question stays open, given the disagreement over whether its cards use ROM or NAND.
Tools & products mentioned
- Nintendo Switch 2 on Amazon — Check current price
- Nintendo Switch on Amazon — Check current price
Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links or our editor's own courses and book. If you buy through them, TechyCluster or its editor may earn money at no extra cost to you. This does not influence what we cover or how we cover it. As an Amazon Associate, TechyCluster earns from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Macronix stopping ROM chip production?
Ars Technica says ROM is being crowded out by more lucrative NOR flash, NAND flash and eMMC, and that Macronix's capacity is fixed at 25,000 12-inch wafers per month. Engadget quotes CEO Miin Wu citing demand for NOR used in data centers.
Will Switch game prices go up because of this?
Not reported. Tom's Hardware speculates Nintendo could raise physical prices, make more Game-Key Cards or lean digital. Nintendo hasn't commented in the coverage.
Does the Macronix exit affect Switch 2 game cards?
Outlets disagree. Gibson and Ars Technica say both Switch and Switch 2 cartridges are affected. Engadget says Switch 2 cards use NAND flash, which Macronix is keeping.
Who else makes ROM chips for Nintendo?
According to Tom's Hardware, ROHM Semiconductor and LAPIS Semiconductor, both in the ROHM group, still supply ROM chips to Nintendo.
Get the next one in your inbox. One email a day with the tech stories that matter, explained in plain English. Subscribe free.
Sources
This article was compiled from reporting by the following outlets. Links go to the original reports.
- Tom's Hardware: Nintendo ROM chip supplier Macronix quits to focus on chips for AI data centers, reports indicate
- Engadget: Nintendo's main Switch cartridge supplier is leaving the ROM business
- Ars Technica: Nintendo's biggest ROM chip supplier is bowing out of the business
- Ars Technica: Nintendo’s biggest ROM chip supplier is bowing out of the business
