Fortnite has become a massively popular title in the past few months. Having originally been revealed in 2011 at the Game Awards, the game has had a tumultuous development cycle that has ended up ballooning due to the inclusion of a free-to-play game mode called Fortnite Battle Royale. This mode is free for everyone, even those who have not bought into the cornerstone of Fortnite, the cooperative “Save the World” mode. The Battle Royale mode has become a bank-rolling success for its creators, resulting in Epic branching out to a separate development team to work exclusively on it.
Fortnite is available on almost every single popular platform today. Releasing first on PS4, PC, and Xbox One, the eventual mobile ports had schools shut down internet capabilities due to students sapping network bandwidth with the application. The title is estimated to have generated almost $126 million dollars and has most recently broken YouTube streaming records on top of the previous record-breaking stream from Twitch-user Ninja.
Fortnite Switch: Will it be Revealed at E3 2018?
However, while the game has reached a wide-amount of success on these platforms, it has yet to be seen if a version of the game would be coming to Nintendo’s latest handheld, the Nintendo Switch. The Switch boasts the ability to play games on a television screen and on the go. In essence, the Switch is a hybrid console that would make Fortnite feel right at home. The console has become the fastest-selling game system ever released, with an install base of nearly 5 million after a year of it hitting store shelves.
Fortnite Switch would be a huge money-maker, and there have already been unverified rumors that it’s set to appear during E3 2018. While there are a healthy variety of demos which are on the eShop (the digital storefront for the console), there are no available free-to-play games. The Nintendo Switch also doesn’t require an online subscription (yet) to play online. The install base, free online, and lack of any other free-to-play games to compete with would make the game’s audience significantly larger if brought to the Nintendo Switch.
Fortnite Switch: Who Will Develop it?
However, there is most definitely interest in bringing the game to the Nintendo Switch. There were recent rumors circling that the game had a planned release in September/August, and it’s quite possible that the title is already being ported by an existing studio which is known for porting engines and games to various portable systems. Most likely this existing studio is Armature, as a recent announcement earlier this month detailed the following:
Some exciting projects happening at Armature: an original IP console project; an original IP VR project; working on Fortnite… and we are having a blast doing it!
We are seeking ENGINEERS to join our talented teams on these awesome projects! https://t.co/mplwFke530pic.twitter.com/zS0b21zwQu— Armature Studio (@ArmatureStudio) March 5, 2018
The detailed work Armature is doing on Fortnite might involve bringing it to the Nintendo Switch, as for the most part, their work has involved developing ports on various portable systems (most notably the versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 on Vita). They were also responsible for porting various engines such as the Unreal Engine 4 to the Nintendo Wii U, so they have experience with the Unreal Engine 4 on a Nintendo console. However, it’s important to know that Fortnite‘s engine (Unreal Engine 4) already supports Nintendo Switch development.
If Fortnite Switch doesn’t wind up being a reality, other Battle Royale games will take its limelight; the upcoming game Crazy Justice is also coming to Switch with its own battle royale mode. Judging from its trailer, it looks like the game will be able to fill the void that Fortnite is currently not occupying.
What do you think? Is there a possibility that Fortnite is currently being worked on for the Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below.
