The original Switch is still a widely beloved console and one of the most successful releases for Nintendo, despite its flaws, with the Nintendo Switch 2 having the perfect chance to fix the biggest letdowns of the previous console. While the Switch 2 seems to be making some of the same mistakes as its predecessor, like limited storage space and Joy-Con concerns, it has some considerable improvements. Equipped with much more powerful hardware, the Switch 2 could fulfill some of Nintendo's unfulfilled promises in the future.

While I'm still confused by Nintendo's lack of personalization with the UI and various interfaces of the original Switch, several promised games never made the cut to get ported to the console. While these decisions were likely far out of Nintendo's hands, falling to the developers themselves, highly anticipated titles like KOTOR 2's DLC or a Pillars of Eternity 2 port being canceled still hurt to think about. With the ambitious promises of these titles likely being too high to achieve, after five years of waiting, many fans are still wondering when one long-awaited game will release on the Switch.

Genshin Impact Was Always Promised For Nintendo Switch

Over Half A Decade Since The Initial Announcement

Although no release date was given during its initial teaser, Genshin Impact was announced for a Switch release back in January 2020, with very little word on its development progress ever since. Rather than being announced in a social media post or included among the list of devices that Genshin Impact was compatible with, the game received an entirely dedicated Nintendo Switch trailer in Japan, as seen on the official Genshin Impact YouTube channel. Given the dedicated reveal through official channels, there was little reason to doubt that it would be released in the following months.

While HoYoverse was given the benefit of the doubt over the years, aided by an official update in 2022 that the Genshin Impact Switch port wasn't canceled, it's more than clear the project had quietly fallen apart years prior. While the lack of an official cancellation was more than disappointing for those still holding out hope for Genshin Impact's Switch release, its reports of developmental challenges make the absence more understandable.

Why We Never Got Genshin Impact On Switch

It's Not Hard To Imagine Why Genshin Never Came To The Switch

With HoYoverse releasing multiple Genshin Impact ports for consoles aside from the Switch, like the PlayStation 5 and Nvidia's GeForce Now, it's clear there was plenty of incentive to make the iconic gacha game accessible on as many devices as possible. While it's frustrating to have waited so long with no official updates, the most likely culprit for why the Genshin Impact port never came to fruition was the technical problems presented by the Switch itself. Making this possibility even more believable were the leaks that the project was allegedly delayed as a result of the Switch's lackluster hardware.

The most likely culprit for why the Genshin Impact port never came to fruition was the technical problems presented by the Switch itself

Given that the most ambitious areas of Genshin Impact struggle to run even on the PlayStation 4, it's not too surprising that HoYoverse decided to abandon the project as the scale of the game continued to explode over time. Combined with the ever-growing file size of Genshin Impact, which would have taken up nearly the entire 32 GB storage of the original Switch, the project likely became even more unfeasible as time went on.

Could Genshin Impact Come To Switch 2?

Reviving Hope For The Flagship Of HoYoverse To Return

While HoYoverse has yet to give an official comment to ScreenRant on whether they plan to revive the Genshin Impact port for the release of the Switch 2 or not, the new console's massively expanded hardware overcomes the greatest barriers holding a Genshin Impact port back. While Genshin Impact could still face problems when it comes to incorporating its gacha mechanics into the Nintendo store, it seems like a much smaller hill to overcome in comparison.

Given that Genshin Impact has increased so much in scale, it's become much more difficult to run on mobile devices, but a Switch 2 port has massive potential to offer mobile gameplay without drastically sacrificing visual quality. The hardware improvements of the switch come in more than just performance as well, as one of the Swtich 2's biggest takeaways was using joycons like a mouse, helping to bridge the gap between games that rely on precise navigation or a touchpad to be played, making clicking through menus and playing games like Genshin Impact even more feasible on the Swtich 2.

Source: Genshin Impact/YouTube