Bringing resource-intensive modern titles to Nintendo's hardware continues to pose hurdles for smaller development teams. Speaking with Automaton Media, Sandfall Interactive co-founder Tom Guillermin explained that while the studio wants to bring last year's Game of the Year-winning RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to the Nintendo Switch 2, executing a port would be a big technical challenge.
Unreal Engine 5 Limitations on Switch 2
The primary hurdle centers on the game's heavy reliance on Unreal Engine 5 features. Lead character and concept artist Alan Reynaud pointed specifically to Blueprints, a node-based scripting tool used to craft gameplay systems, noting that many features utilized during development simply do not function on the Nintendo Switch 2 in its current state.
While Epic Games has introduced features like Lumen Lite to ease hardware demands compared to standard Lumen, developers remain at the mercy of engine updates and rollout timelines to determine feasibility.
Broader Third-Party Port Pressures
Sandfall Interactive's comments illustrate a wider reality for smaller studios navigating Nintendo's console generation. While larger publishers like Capcom and Square Enix have managed to bring games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to the system, those efforts require significant engineering resources. For independent and smaller teams, investing time into complex optimization work remains a steep barrier, making a universal library of third-party releases on the Nintendo Switch 2 an ongoing challenge.