During the September 29, 2020 Pokemon presentation, a new way to get Pokemon Sword or Shield and its respective Expansion Pass was announced. Nintendo will offer be putting the two together on November 9, 2020. What happens is people will be able to pick up a Pokemon Sword and Shield physical copy that is basically a bundle that gives folks the game and the DLC. Best of all, it’s all on the cart.
The fine print confirmed this detail. Rather than including a copy of the game and a download for its respective expansion pass, everything is on the Nintendo Switch cartridge. This means that, update patches aside, there would be no additional space taken up on your Nintendo Switch or its microSD card.
Pokemon Sword and Shield standard copies are immediately available both digitally, as is the first Isle of Armor expansion pass. The Crown Tundra release date is October 22, 2020, and these all-in-one Pokemon Sword and Shield physical copies will put everything on cartridges starting on November 9, 2020.