The Witness is a 3D puzzle game that initially released in 2016, instantly becoming subject to a high level of praise from critics and fans alike. Directed and produced by Jonathan Blow, the talented mind behind the also-loved Braid, the game eventually made its way to the Nvidia Shield and iOS devices last year, but it seems like Switch players have been left out this time around.
During a conversation with Eurogamer about a new Sokoban-inspired project, Blow was asked if The Witness would make it to Switch now that the mobile ports have successfully arrived. Unfortunately, it seems incredibly unlikely.
"I wouldn't say never, but we worked on that game for a long time. We could have done more ports but I felt like it was a good idea to give the team a break and work on some new things.
We're working on new projects now. We're not really working on ports of The Witness but that could change. Something could happen. We could outsource it and quality control in-house. But we're not currently doing anything."
It's a shame that the Switch will likely never see a port of this game, partly because it would be great for Switch owners to have the opportunity to experience a much-loved title, but also because its quirky puzzle nature would sit well within the console's current library and would likely see a decent level of success, too. If you haven't seen or heard anything about the game before, here's a look at the initial launch date announcement trailer from a couple of years back.
Have you played the game on other platforms? Would you like to see The Witness arrive on Switch? Let us know below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 35
Would love to see this on the Switch. Especially when I'm travelling, this would be a nice game to start up real fast. Still need to finish it on PC though.
Outsource this game to Epic, let them put this island into Fortnite so kids will glide down there and do some puzzles.
I went ahead and picked this up during the Steam sale but would prefer it on the Switch. Can't blame them for not porting this as they are a small studio and I'm sure they are getting a little burnt out on the same game for 3-4 years or however long it's been.
Darn. Oh well, moving on...
Mobile master race!!!
His loss I guess. Games like this seem to be hyped up a bit and sell rather well in the first few weeks on the shop. I mean how long can it take to port over?? Games like unreal engine 3 that's not suppose to run on the Switch were ported in a matter of weeks so said the Outlast devs.
Never heard of the game but their lost
Someone call Panic Button!
This is on my wishlist for when I eventually buy a PS4, guess it will be staying there for now.
@NaviAndMii They're too busy working on Tons.
Jonathan Blow really doesn't seem to like Nintendo or their consoles, so this honestly doesn't surprise me at all.
It's a pretty good puzzle game, though. Would never directly support the creator, but it was part of a humble bundle a couple of years ago, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it.
A shame, really. Got it on Xbox One, and it's really quite enjoyable, and the puzzles are well-thought out.
I think it'll happen. It's money within easy reach and it seems as though, provided it got enough media attention, it would be a solid seller. Whether they do it themselves or outsource a port, I can't see why any company would let a valuable IP skip a platform almost guaranteed to make money.
Hell, it was already released for Shield which is the exact processor running inside the Switch. A little programming for the specific Switch inputs seems like hardly any effort at all.
Seems a bad business decision. If they had port it to the Switch soon after the Switch launched, they could have made more than all other platforms combined.
Even now, notable Switch version of games are raking in more than on other platforms. Although success is now not guaranteed, given the growing number of games and lemons on the eshop.
For all those fans of "The Witness".
StickyStoneStudio and Korion are releasing a similar game which is also in Closed Alpha currently.
Have a look:
https://www.memorrha.de
I rarely say good to games NOT coming to a consoles. But in this case....good.
Jonathon Blow is a twat.
@gcunit there’s rumors of Kilos, too!
Well, outsourcing the port could be a way. But I'm more interested in what else Blow has up his sleeve and would want that on the Switch.
Braid was a great experience, although not one I would like to repeat. Those ring levels were nasty.
I'm not a big fan of blow. Braid is way overhyped and the witness was interesting but overall felt way too pretentious and tried way too hard to be weird and thought provoking. It reminded me if a junior college art major and a philosophy major made a game before they got their degrees.
Witness would find a good home on switch and I bet the port would be easily handled but I'm pretty sure Blow just doesn't want to be on Nintendo platforms.
I get that, they want to focus on future projects instead of porting the same game over and over again. I am ok with this, hopefully whatever they are working on next will come to Switch.
I thought it was a pretty decent game, but I don’t think it’s good enough to be that worried about missing.
That’s a shame. Is this on Mac?
I played this on Xbox One and absolutely loved it. A really absorbing and captivating experience. Highly recommended! Shame it's unlikely to come to the Switch. Unfortunately, I never saw the end because some of the later puzzles with the flashing and spinning made me motion sick (never had this before) and I couldn't get past them.
A Shame; but I do own on PS4 and iOS so I really cant't whine. If you can I urge you to seek it out! Its wonderful.
One of my favorite games ever! I played it a bunch and started seeing the environmental puzzles everywhere I went. How many other games really change how you see the world around you while you’re playing them?
As one who’s never played the game, I stand as an ignorant witness.
A little disappointing, as like others I think this would have been a neat fit for Switch, but I could play it on other platforms, like phone or tablet, if I really wanted to. And so far, I haven't.
Ok I guess...who was asking for this again?
I already own this on PS4 and beat it twice, but I'd still buy it on Switch to have it portable. Great game that really shocked me. "Line puzzles" sounds like sheer boredom but I had a blast.
Oh well... Looking forward to the next project.
I find it hard to get mad at any dev who doesn't port their pre-Switch games to the Switch. I mean, there's thousands of games that are older than the Switch and aren't on the Switch, and many great games too. You can't have them all, otherwise all devs would be doing was porting older games.
Anyway, the Witness has had some great sales on GOG, keep an eye on it if you're interested. As a big puzzle fan and mystery (point-and-click) adventure games like Myst, this has to be one of my favourite puzzle games. It's simply brilliant, and a simple trailer or review can't do it justice. The best bits are discovering them yourself in the game.
It makes sense, he isn't ruling out the possibility of there ever being a Switch version of the Witness, just that a port isn't currently in the works as Jonathan blow comes up with new ideas. No doubt many here will take this as a personal jab at the Switch, but remember new games are always on the horizon.
That’s odd considering Nindie success.
This game was legitimately terrible
Baffles me when people want to port to mobile but not Switch. But it also baffles me how so many people seem to consider mobile a legitimate platform. Playing a game, on a phone or a tablet with only a touch screen, plagued with micro transactions, ads, or nonsense realtime limiters is so incredibly inferior. About the only mobile game left that I play is Pokemon Go. But I have tried quite a few. I have stuck with Go, only because I stopped playing for over a year and recently got back into it with friends.
I don't even play Hearthstone on my phone anymore, because it always needs 27 updates before the app will open...
This is a shame. I had really wanted to play this, but the Switch is such a perfect fit for me I’ll likely never get a PS4 to play it, and playing it on iOS doesn’t sound ideal.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...