Summary
It came as a big surprise in 2020 when Hoyoverse announced thatGenshin Impactwould eventually launch on the Nintendo Switch platform. However, over four years have passed since then with little to no new announcements regardingGenshin Impact’s Switch release, so many fans have grown skeptical that this will still come to fruition. Consequently, while aGenshin ImpactSwitch release grows less and less likely as years pass, Hoyoverse’s newest title,Zenless Zone Zero, may win this race by releasing on the Switch beforeGenshin Impactdoes.
Given the uncertain status ofGenshin Impact’s Nintendo Switch release, other Hoyoverse games may likely end up coming to Nintendo Switch ahead ofGenshin Impact, and recent signs suggestZenless Zone Zerowill lead this charge. Not to mention,Zenless Zone Zero’s Producer, Zhenyu Li,has already expressed interest in bringingZenless Zone Zerothe game to new platforms, even beyond the Nintendo Switch.
Genshin Impact’s Nintendo Switch Release Remains a Mystery After Four Years
While the real reason for the delay ofGenshin Impact’s Nintendo Switch release remains unknown, many speculative reasons within the game’s community likely fit the bill. For instance, some fans initially thought thatGenshin Impact’s similarities to theLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwere a potential cause for the delay, so as to avoidGenshin Impactcompeting with one of the most popular, first-party games on the Switch at the time. Others have also speculated that Nintendo may have hesitated to introducegacha games likeGenshin Impactto the Switch because of the platform’s accessibility to younger audiences.
Alas, the prevailing theory behindGenshin Impact’s delayed Nintendo Switch release is that the game may have slowly outgrown the performance requirements that the Switch’s hardware can handle. Consequently, Hoyoverse is speculated to be waiting forthe next generation of Nintendo Switch consolesto be released before considering releasingGenshin Impacton the platform.
Why Zenless Zone Zero Could Come to Nintendo Switch Before Genshin Impact
Comparing Zenless Zone Zero and Genshin Impact’s Minimum Device Requirements
Despite the prevailing theory suggesting that hardware limitations might lead toZenless Zone Zerocoming to the Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 beforeGenshin Impact, the minimum device requirements for these games don’t exactly support this. WhileGenshin Impactmay be more taxing on GPU and storage requirements,Zenless Zone Zero’s minimum device requirementsare slightly more CPU intensive. So, ultimately, it’s not as simple as one game being objectively less hardware intensive, thus presumably being a better fit for the Switch’s limited hardware.
Genshin Impact May Have Missed Its Opportunity at a Nintendo Switch Release
Instead, what it more likely comes down to is thatGenshin Impactmay have missed its opportunity for a Nintendo Switch port entirely, andGenshin Impact’s exclusivity deal with Sonyon PlayStation consoles may have something to do with why the Nintendo Switch port has gone quiet. However, the ball is still believed to be in the court for other Hoyoverse games.
While the future ofGenshin Impact’s Switch Release remains uncertain, the project has not yet been officially canceled, so there is still hope that it will eventually happen.
In the short time since its launch,Zenless Zone Zero’s producer, Zhenyu Li,has already expressed interest in bringing the game to Nintendo Switch and Xbox platforms, which, at the very least, suggests thatZenless Zone Zerodoes not have a platform-exclusivity deal yet. This could potentiallypave the path for Hoyoverse’s other games to go multi-platform, but it seems as thoughGenshin Impact’s fate may have been quietly sealed behind closed doors.
