Cyberpunk 2077 Not Coming to Nintendo Switch

The sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is unlikely to be ported over to the Switch. CD Projekt Red’s John Mamais confirmed this, although he did, however, leave a sliver of hope that the game will eventually come over to Switch. He cited the case of The Witcher 3, which CD Projekt Red was able to port over to Switch this October — 4 years after it was initially released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

“Who would have thought a game like The Witcher 3 would be possible on Switch, so who knows?” Mamais asked rhetorically. “I guess we’ll see, if we decide to put it [Cyberpunk 2077] on the Switch, if we can do it. Probably not.”

Switch users aren’t happy

Predictably Switch users are unhappy about this, and some have even launched an online petition. “The game is perfect for the Switch — it has deep gameplay, mature and story driven content, with darker tone of the world [sic] — that is something Switch audience loves and buys [sic] a lot,” notes the petition. It ends by imploring CD Projekt Red to “port more mature games to Switch.”

Porting to Switch is a challenge

Porting The Witcher 3 to Switch was a major coup for CD Projekt Red. But it took the company 4 years to do it. This means it can be done, at least in theory, for Cyberpunk 2077, too. Switch users, though, shouldn’t keep their hopes up, as porting the game will be a massive challenge. The game’s spectacular visuals alone would be difficult given the console’s hardware.

The Cyberpunk revival

Cyberpunk has recently barged back into the public conscious. As avid gamer El Gosiengfiao-Santos points out in a Mantle article on cyberpunk, the adage “Cyberpunk is now” couldn’t be any truer now. Films like Blade Runner 2049 and Alita: Battle Angel have roused renewed interest in the genre and its hallmark dystopian futuristic settings. TV series such as Altered Carbon and Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (both on Netflix) further show how there is a growing demand for cyberpunk content.

(Cyberpunk 2077′ official cinematic trailer)

Cyberpunk also has a strong presence in gaming. CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest cyberpunk title for consoles, following on from, among other games, Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Online games have also been taking inspiration from cyberpunk’s revival. Foxy Games has several titles that are indebted to the genre, including Reactor, The Equalizer, and Power Plant. Each game uses the distinct futuristic neon style of cyberpunk to give online players an insight into the genre. For cyberpunk gaming fans of all genres and platforms the future looks very bright.

This revival, in turn, may compel CD Projekt Red to port Cyberpunk 2077 to Switch, especially given the console’s popularity. But again Switch users shouldn’t keep their hopes up. At the moment Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t coming to Switch.

 

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