Macronix plans to wind down ROM business crucial for Switch cartridges — Engadget

Taiwanese semiconductor and memory manufacturer Macronix plans to gradually wind down production of ROM used for physical Nintendo Switch cartridges. Engadget reports, citing the Taipei Times; the decision was confirmed by the company’s CEO, Ming Wu. Macronix may be the main supplier of ROM for Switch cartridges.

ROM business performance

In the third quarter of 2026, Macronix posted a record net profit of $337 million. At the same time, its ROM business declined by 39% over the past year. This segment’s share of the company’s sales fell from 26% to 5%.

According to Ming Wu, many of the company’s new customers are generating demand for NOR memory for use in data centers. NOR is a type of flash memory.

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Impact on physical media

Macronix is not the only company involved in producing physical cartridges for Nintendo Switch. Therefore, its exit from the ROM segment does not automatically mean the end of cartridge production, but it could negatively affect the long-term viability of physical game media.

Switch 2 cartridges use NAND flash memory, a segment Macronix does not plan to wind down. Digital products already account for 61.5% of Nintendo’s software sales. For PlayStation 5, digital downloads account for approximately 85%, while on Xbox platforms they account for 96%.