Why is Genshin Impact Not on Nintendo Switch?
The beloved open-world action RPG has received instant massive-hit success across many gaming platforms, as it is immensely popular especially amongst mobile players.
Of course, it would be natural to assume that Nintendo’s most popular hybrid console is also getting a port of Genshin Impact due to its easy accessibility in other devices – yet two years after its promised announcement, Nintendo Switch players have still yet to experience the fantastical world of Teyvat.
A Brief Overview of Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG that completely dominated the video game industry in the year 2020, then again, it would still continue to be one of the top popular games today, amassing a dedicated fanbase that helps the overall community thrive.
This free-to-play game is known for its striking anime-inspired visuals, its expanding map, a unique element-based combat system, and an impactful storyline that still keeps ongoing every major update. Travelers from all around the world can enjoy regular update patches roughly every six weeks, with new content, events, bosses, and more exciting features.
Combine these elements while adding the gacha aspect into the equation – and you wouldn’t be surprised how HoYoverse managed to craft a fun and addicting game at the same time, successfully attracting an overwhelmingly large player base, with the first two months of sales generating over $400 million, and still thriving until this day. As a game that's always evolving, Travelers keep coming back for more brand new jam-packed content to unfold.
With the massive outlandish land of Teyvat in their horizons, players are enthralled to explore the world of Genshin Impact. Travelers are able to experience this journey on their Playstation 4, Playstation 5, iOS, Android and PC devices. But how about Nintendo Switch users? Well, let’s find out what really happened about this long-awaited release.
Will Genshin Impact Be Available for Nintendo Switch?
The game producers have announced that the game will be ported to the Nintendo Switch, a portable gaming platform that has shown to be rather successful for the past five years.
After two years of the Nintendo Switch Port Trailer being available on Genshin Impact's English YouTube page, speculation has persisted that the version port has been scrapped. HoYoverse's silence on the Nintendo Switch version of Genshin Impact's release date has only tangled the situation even further.
It didn’t take a while before fans noticed that the usual references to the Nintendo Switch being a supported platform for the game were omitted by the recent trailers from the game, notably in the lore trailer from April 2022, featuring Kamisato Ayato and Ayaka, which was uploaded to Genshin Impact’s Japanese YouTube page.
As no recent Genshin Impact media has made any reference to the Nintendo Switch, some fans have begun to worry that the game may never make it there. The video's description was revised to include mentions of Nintendo Switch shortly after they were noticed about the caption. It appears that the absence was due to a typo in the video's description, at least for the time being.
It's easy to assume that significant drawbacks have slowed down the project, leaving majority of fans to speculate that the limited hardware capabilities of the Nintendo Switch are probably to blame. It has been to no one's surprise that the hardware has not held up well since its 2017 release, despite being cutting-edge at the time.
As more content is added to Genshin Impact with each update, the game's size continues to grow. It's possible that the devs are having trouble solving the technical roadblocks in Genshin's Nintendo Switch port.
However, one could argue that the Nintendo Switch console is very much capable of smoothly running even bigger AAA open-world titles like The Witcher 3, Doom Eternal and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In fact, other fans doubt that performance is the real issue here. A game that can run on a smartphone, should probably run on the Switch as well.
Some speculate that the real problem is that there has to be a lot of optimization done to the system. Due to the steady stream of updates the game has been receiving, it would make sense if the Switch port was falling behind the actual core game.
As a gacha game, microtransactions also play a central role in Genshin Impact. Some leakers have assumed that there could be technical difficulties linking the game's shop items to Nintendo eShop.
Recent Updates about Genshin Impact on Nintendo Switch
Many fans have been left in the dark wondering how long is this free-to-play game still going to remain on the back burner. With the game's constant flow of updates, some Nintendo Switch owners (especially those who currently play Genshin Impact on their mobile) are eager to get any tidbits of information regarding the fate of the Nintendo Switch version, so they could continue playing the game without worrying too much about their phone's limited storage.
Thanks to the efforts of the team at GoNintendo, we may finally have a lead; and the answer may give fans a glimmer of hope.
While they may have not found anything particularly promising, we have official confirmation that the development on porting Genshin Impact to the Nintendo Switch is still in the works. GoNintendo has contacted HoYoverse's PR team to find out what's going on. According to miHoYo's global PR executive Xin Yang: 'The Switch version [of Genshin Impact] is still in development, and we will release more information as we progress further along.'
Sadly, not even rumors or speculations can tell how far along they are in porting the game to the Nintendo Switch, nor have we come closer to learning when it will be made available. While the news is certainly reassuring, fans of Genshin Impact can only sit tight until a release date is announced for their highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch Version.
But do not worry, Travelers! For the meantime, you can still enjoy Teyvat to your heart's content via other gaming platforms. Grind up for those Primogems, and make sure to stay updated for more Genshin Impact news!
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