Is Genshin Impact Coming to Nintendo Switch?
Since its release in 2020, Genshin Impact has remained one of the most played video games in the world alongside the tactical first-person shooter Valorant. At the time of release, the developer and publisher of Genshin Impact, HoYoverse, announced that the game would come to the Nintendo Switch. This was welcome news. However, it’s 2024 and we still haven’t heard of a Switch release. In this article, we’ll look at the history of Genshin Impact in the video game industry and why the announcement of a Switch release is important.
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First Things First…
We already established that Genshin Impact is one of the most-played video games in the world. Its open-world action RPG elements took a page from Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was then a popular game. The multi-platform and free-to-play format of Genshin Impact attracted a lot of players from both the organic fanbase of the HoYoverse gamers, and the new players who didn’t have anything new to play because of the CoVID-19 pandemic.
The game was an instant hit. It garnered a lot of media attention alongside Valorant and Animal Crossing: New Horizons and it spawned a multimedia franchise. It also served as a template for future ARPG (action role-playing game) like Wuthering Waves. While its inspiration, The Legend of Zelda, continued to set a benchmark in storytelling.
All of these sum up to Genshin Impact being a future “greatest video game of all time.”
The Switch Announcement
In January 2021, HoYoverse announced a major move: bringing Genshin Impact to the Nintendo Switch. This came as no surprise to those who anticipated a multi-platform release. After all, the Switch can rival a good smartphone that can run Genshin Impact on full settings. HoYoverse themselves have also released a trailer for the Switch port.
However, this became a roadblock.
The Switch and Genshin Impact went in different directions. While there is no official announcement of the development phase for the Switch port, ir can only be assumed that because of the numerous updates and patches to the game that the Switch may not be able to keep up. This also comes with the consideration that Nintendo is the only one left in the previous generation of consoles/handhelds with the Switch. But, as shown in the official trailer, the Switch can run the cinematics.
If anything, the port of Sega’s Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (PSO2) is a good example of developers being able to port their open-world game to limited hardware. Yes, the Switch is considered limited in terms of hardware specs. Look at the system requirements for PSO2 on the PC and look at the hardware specifications of the Switch. You know there is a big compromise that needs to be addressed during the development. If you’re not familiar with the releases of PSO2, the game was also released on the PlayStation Vita.
But that did not hinder Sega’s plans to release PSO2 on the Switch at least in Japan.
What is taking HoYoverse so long for Genshin Impact to make it to the Switch will remain a mystery until they formally announce the release of the game.
The initial 2021 announcement is still an important event in Genshin Impact’s history. This is because of the obvious competition of the game to its inspiration, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A free-to-play game going head-to-head against the gold standard of ARPG and storytelling. What more could Switch users ask for, right?
But that’s where our story ends. At least for now.
It may come too late for the game to be released on any other platform than it’s on right now, and with many games following its path, the relevance of a Genshin Impact on the Switch may diminish further.
