In a pretty surprising announcement it looks like Hogwarts Legacy is coming to the Nintendo Switch.
While no grand announced has been made by developer Avalanche Software or publisher WB Games, over on the official Hogwarts Legacy website a Nintendo Switch logo has been added to the platform list at the bottom of the site. Furthermore, the frequently asked questions section has been updated to include Nintendo Switch as a supported platform.
This lowkey announcement has certainly taken us by surprise. Earlier this week the first ever Hogwarts Legacy gameplay was showcased via a PS5 State of Play livestream and the game looks not only pretty beautiful, but fairly ambitious in scope. A game of this scale doesn’t seem a prime candidate for porting to Nintendo’s ageing handheld/home console.
Of course, AAA titles such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Doom Eternal have found their way onto Switch, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Hogwarts Legacy can be tweaked enough to run smoothly on Switch. The game is also launching on PS4 and Xbox One, which are less powerful systems, although both can still outperform a Nintendo Switch.
There is a possibility that Hogwarts Legacy will be released on Nintendo Switch as a Cloud Version. Graphically intense games such as Hitman 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy have previously been made playable Nintendo’s hardware via cloud streaming. Although the Hogwarts Legacy’s website makes no mention of the game being a Cloud Version on Switch so it’s presumably a native port.
Cloud Versions of games are still somewhat controversial on the Switch. They require full internet access at all times, unsurprisingly as they’re being streamed to the console, which blunts one of the Switch’s biggest draws: portability. Plus, the recently released Cloud Version of the Kingdom Hearts collection was blighted by performance issues.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that some technical wizardry is being performed on Hogwarts Legacy to get it running natively on the Nintendo Switch. Being able to explore a detailed digital recreation of the famous Wizarding World on the go sounds like the stuff of pure fantasy.
Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have firm release date, but it's currently scheduled to launch sometime in holiday 2022. Switch versions of multi platform games are often released later then their PlayStation/Xbox/PC counterparts, so don't be shocked if Hogwarts Legacy on Nintendo Switch slips into 2023.
