With every successful product there are offshoots and sub-industries, and for the Nintendo Switch one of these is specialist porting companies. With Nintendo's hardware infrastructure being entirely different to work with than the relatively same-ish PlayStation and Xbox platforms, major publishers have sought out talented porting teams to get their games on the system.
Some names pop up regularly and have benefitted hugely from this industry - Panic Button springs to mind. Another name that pops up regularly in these Switch ports is Saber Interactive, which makes its own games in addition to working on notable releases like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition and Crysis Remastered.
Saber Interactive is now a sizeable organisation - itself taken over by Embracer Group in 2020 - which has been emphasized further with confirmation that it's acquiring three companies. The first is Demiurge Studios, which has primarily done work-for-hire on triple-A titles. The other two acquisitions, however, suggest that Saber Interactive is aiming to strengthen its position further in the Switch porting space.
First is Estonia-based Fractured Byte, which has notably worked on the Switch ports of Borderlands Legendary Collection and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. Next is SmartPhone Labs, based out of Novgorod in Russia - it's worked in mobile ports but is named as working on the upcoming Switch version of World War Z. In this case Saber Interactive was already the 'name' attached to the zombie action title, so this acquisition seems to be formalising an existing relationship.
They're notable moves and Saber Interactive is staying busy on the Switch, with Crysis Remastered Trilogy and Kingdom Come: Deliverance among those titles on the way.
It's interesting to see the continual growth of the Switch porting business, which will no doubt continue with future Nintendo hardware if it proves to be a sales success.
Comments 23
Maybe more developers should make their games on Switch first then upgrade the graphics for the other systems. It's a shame Switch has such a large userbase yet we're treated like an afterthought!
Long term thinking. Interesting.
@Clyde_Radcliffe I disagree.
I would hate to have games crippled in size and scope just to fit on 1 handheld system.
If you want the big AAA games than buy an Xbox or PlayStation and keep the Switch for the exclusives.
The switch can't run last gen games optimally (it took Doom Eternal an extra year of development time and it still only runs atv30FPSz and look at how poorly Apex looks/runs) so what chance does it have of running newer games that are targeting native 4k or 120FPS without designated porting teams to dumb them down accordingly.
@Mr-Fuggles777 He said to start making the game with the Switch in mind and then work up.
So instead of making the game at 4K etc and downgrading, make the game in Switch's spec and upgrade the assets to higher specifications.
Veliky Novgorod - you can just say Novgorod)))
"Veliky" ("Великий") is Russian for "Great" and is used just to differentiate the city from Nizhny Novgorod (translates as "Lower Novgorod") - it's not an official name.
@Mr-Fuggles777 Yes, it would not be appropriate for the most ambitious games but the vast majority of games don't fit that criteria and could certainly be made on Switch first. Games like Apex Legends and Doom Eternal would look better if built on Switch first as we can see from Nintendo's own games like BOTW and Mario Odyssey among others.
It's mostly when games are downgraded from other consoles they come out really rough and also depends on how talented the developers are. There are certainly some high quality ports like THPS and Alien isolation that stand out in contrast compared to the poor efforts of others (the recent Art of Rally port is ridiculous)
@Haruki_NLI it's not just a case of upscaling the graphics though.
Compare Monster Hunter Rise to World, World has much larger open areas and allows for much larger lobbies online.
Large open world games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla wouldn't be the same as Switch is unable to render large groups of enemies and open landscapes in such intricate detail - look how empty BotW and Pokemon Legends are.
The switches recent exclusives don't even hit High Definition so imagine how crude they would look upscaled to 4k
Wish they fixed the corrupt save game issue for Snowrunner first. Really ruining the fun for all dedicated Snowrunner players on Switch having them losing their hard earned trucks.
@Clyde_Radcliffe Alien Isolation is a 360 game and that doesn't run very well on newer consoles (it's actually better on switch than XsX) which is the issue if all games were built using the older Switch tech first.
Immortals FR was built with the switch in mind and that still runs horribly, I couldn't even finish it on switch as it was that bad it gave me motion sickness.
What the Switch does it does well, but if you want the newer games that run well and look good you need another console to supplement the Switch.
@Mr-Fuggles777 I wouldn't say you need another console. We know the PS5 can't do 4K at 60fps all too often without upscaling techniques. Even the upcoming PS4 enhanced Ghost of Tsushima port only targets 4K and aims for 60fps. Ratchet and Clank can't do 4K 60fps without cutting ray tracing out. Returnal rendered natively at 1080p and then upscaled.
If you want actual next gen graphics and experiences, you need a PC. The PS5 is an exclusives box, and even then we know where those games look to end up soon.
Personally, I either need a portable system for work, or an actual 4K capable machine for home. So for me, I need a Switch to supplement my PC. The PS5 I own is barely touched. What it does well, it does well, but it's not giving me the performance it claimed it would.
And this is the crux of the issue. Of course developers can build with Switch first. If they manage to do it between PS4 and PS5, or even PS5 and PC, they can do it for Switch up to PC.
Very good news switch need this. Personally for me doom eternal sits atop of the port games for switch. What panic button did with that is pure magic. However, I will take all the good ports I can get on my switch. WELCOMED NEWS!
Great news! More third party support is always welcome.
Lest we forget, they also made the VERY impressive Snowrunner run amazingly well on Switch. I've never seen physics based games in varied and lush fully interactive natural environments (from mud and snow and water, via thees and separate branches, to the gas in the tanks and the loose objects on a roof rack and car physics in turn reacting to the deforming of the environment) work so perfectly and so beautiful, even on the Switch it's a feast for the eye. And just overall a fantastic game even for someone who doesn't even like cars, like myself. But then again, I don't think most people who enjoy a good shooter have to love guns and genocide. Getting sidetracked here. Saber does great work, and Snowrunner needs more attention.
@Mr-Fuggles777 I just started Immortals Fenyx Rising yesterday (finally got my hands on a physical copy under €20, which, together with some patches, was what I decided to wait for), and after a huge update, it runs very well now, much better than what I saw was the case from the early reviews. Just saying, without getting in the argument. If you wanted to finish it, I guess it's "ready" now.
@Shambo I picked it up on Xbox in the end. Its a great game without the OTT motion blur making me feel nauseous.
(Not too fussed about more Activision ports, mind. That company can burn.)
@Shambo after 100ish+ hours on Switch your save game will grow corrupt and trucks start to disappear, see their forums.
Yes it's a great port but at the moment unplayable for me and other 100+ hour players and its taking them ridiculously long to fix it (they are aware of this issue as of June 9th).
@ro0llo That's not good indeed... I'm at "over 90 hours" according to my Switch... :/
@uptownsoul that is exactly what I was trying to say, just not as elegantly
@NightBeast Ah ok, noted. Thanks!
Well, I just want a Tomb Raider trilogy port. I won't wish for anything else ye big on Nintendo Switch.
@Clyde_Radcliffe Doom Eternal was done with the Switch in mind, Panic Button was there from the start alongside id, and the results paid off incredibly well.
It's exciting to think which games they could bring to Switch! Right now they are a necessity on what I see, are its peak years. I hope they come with a AAA port next year to accompany the big names Nintendo will release!
I wonder for how much time though. When the next-gen Switch comes, I hope they are prepared too.
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