SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
Switch 2‘s Third-Party Ports Are Solid, But Nintendo’s Silence Fuels Negative Narratives
Initial impressions of major game ports on the Switch 2 caused a stir, but recent showings reveal the console is performing admirably, despite a lack of official Nintendo promotion.
Reports suggesting poor performance for the Switch 2 port of elden Ring,adn similar concerns for Star Wars Outlaws,have been largely dispelled by recent gameplay demonstrations.
- Elden Ring and star Wars outlaws ports for Switch 2 are performing well, contrary to earlier reports.
- Initial negative impressions stemmed from attendees playing older, unoptimized builds of the games.
- Nintendo is failing to actively promote the Switch 2’s capabilities, allowing negative perceptions to persist.
- The console shows promise with notable ports of titles like Cyberpunk 2077.
The narrative around the Switch 2’s third-party support took a hit last month when early impressions of Elden Ring on the console suggested significant performance issues,particularly in handheld mode. this was amplified by reports of publisher Bandai Namco prohibiting gameplay footage at Gamescom, a move that contrasted with the more positive reception of Final Fantasy 7 Remake on the same hardware. Compounding these concerns, Star Wars Outlaws also faced similar early criticism for reportedly running poorly on the Switch 2.
However, recent evidence from PAX West suggests these initial impressions were based on outdated builds.Gameplay shared by Nintendo Life demonstrated Elden Ring maintaining a consistent 30 frames per second, with only minor dips, aligning it with its Xbox One and PlayStation 4 counterparts.YouTuber ThunderStash Gaming corroborated these findings, showcasing the game in handheld mode and praising its stability, even in an unfinished state.
It appears that attendees at Gamescom were shown significantly less optimized versions of these titles,a week before the PAX West event. The communication strategy from Bandai Namco, in particular, was questionable. Not only did they present an older build, but they also failed to publicly address the performance concerns, allowing negative speculation to flourish. This mirrors the situation with star Wars Outlaws, where initial reports of ‘rough’ performance were contradicted by the game’s actual launch quality. Digital Foundry described the Star Wars Outlaws port as “amazing,” underscoring the disconnect between early impressions and the final product.
Without clear, official demonstrations of the Switch 2’s power, the perception of it being less capable than it is will likely continue. This is a missed opportunity for Nintendo to build positive momentum for its new console.
