Nintendo fans are witnessing something unusual with the Switch 2: Quality ports of big blockbuster games are actually releasing for the platform, and quite frequently. Switch 2 versions of Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, and Final Fantasy VII Remake have impressed players, and 2026 presents Nintendo with an opportunity to solidify a streak of third-party support.
This year’s release calendar has Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, 007 First Light, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and a couple of Xbox darlings (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and South of Midnight) all landing on the Switch 2. Though more game announcements for the platform are assuredly coming, it’s already a strong line-up of non-Nintendo games.
For the longest time, many have begrudgingly bought Nintendo machines because they were the only ways to play franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. But because of the relative lack of power of Nintendo’s consoles as compared to those of Sony and Microsoft, players who also wanted to play major releases like Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed games needed other machines. But if Switch 2 continues receiving excellent third-party ports and equal treatment with other platforms, it could be more than a “Nintendo-exclusive machine” and become the top console for a lot of players this generation.
Support from the major triple-A publishers for Nintendo has been lacking for decades, a narrative that arguably began in the Nintendo 64 era because of an unwillingness to work with cartridges, leading to cases like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series moving to PlayStation. A generation later, the GameCube lagged behind the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in sales at a time when multi-platform releases became standard. While Nintendo’s box had hits such as Resident Evil 4, it had a smaller install base, not to mention lower-capacity discs, and it missed out on iconic titles like Grand Theft Auto 3, Max Payne, Star Wars Battlefront, and many others.
With the Wii, Nintendo took a radically different approach to hardware compared with its competitors, shifting its emphasis toward a novel control scheme and away from cutting-edge graphics and performance. While the Wii was a sales success, third-party developers had little idea what to do with the lack of horsepower and focus on motion controls. Wii owners enjoyed some inspired third-party exclusives like Zack & Wiki, MadWorld, and No More Heroes, but multi-platform releases rarely came to the underpowered console, with exceptions including heavily compromised ports of a few Call of Duty games.
Though it’s arriving late, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looks like a stunner on Switch 2.
The pattern continued with the first Switch, another big moneymaker for Nintendo. It was undoubtedly an excellent machine for indie games, which often demand less of consoles in terms of graphical and processing power, but the Switch lacked many of the same AAA prestige titles that thrived on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. At the very least, you saw some studios making efforts to compact their titles into Nintendo’s handheld hybrid console–“impossible” ports of The Witcher 3, Mortal Kombat 11, and Doom may have been blurry as hell, but it was a miracle they ran at all.
I wouldn’t blame anyone for having doubts about a tide shift for Switch 2, considering historical precedent. When you look at the early Switch 2 software line-up, it’s easy to have flashbacks to the Wii U. Reading the titles “Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition” and “Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition” recalls the days of Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition and Mass Effect 3: Special Edition, Wii U ports that came well after everyone else already played them on other platforms.
Updates for Assassin’s Creed Shadows demonstrate third-party commitment to Switch 2 support.
Something feels different with Nintendo Switch 2. This time around, third-party publishers seemingly care. Perhaps it’s because of the Switch 2’s skyrocketing sales success and the console’s extra power, but whatever the case may be, the outlook for “prestige” games on a Nintendo platform from other companies is brighter than it’s been in decades.
Just look at the work CD Projekt Red put in for Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2, not only incorporating cross-progression, but also adding new input options that let you use gyro or mouse controls. Ubisoft in particular appears to be devoted to delivering more-than-just-serviceable ports on Switch 2, releasing an acclaimed version of Star Wars Outlaws. And even though its port of Assassin’s Creed Shadows had technical issues at launch, Ubisoft continued to refine and improve it with software updates.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s quick arrival on Switch 2 brings hope for a day-and-date release of its sequel.
What makes Resident Evil, Pragmata, and 007’s releases on Switch 2 significant is that they’re coming out day-and-date with the other versions. While that isn’t the case for every game coming to Switch 2 this year, these massive games having simultaneous launches can set a new precedent for third-party support for Nintendo. It certainly helps that annual franchises such as Madden NFL have finally returned to Nintendo, and Call of Duty is due for a Switch 2 debut any time now.
I’d love to see a future where every buzzy multi-platform game gets its due on Nintendo Switch 2, with ports having full parity and same-day releases instead of being late afterthoughts, and Nintendo machines that aren’t just be a delivery system for the newest Mario or Zelda. Should current trends continue, that future could start this year.
