Warframe devs desperately want to make a Nintendo Switch 2 port, but they still don’t have access to a dev kit 

Nintendo’s slow rollout of dev kits for the Nintendo Switch 2 has caused a significant delay in third party ports to the system. Warframe studio Digital Extremes is just one of those third party studios still waiting for hardware to work on a next-gen port of their popular free-to-play game. 

Why Warframe doesn’t have a Switch 2 port

Forcing Warframe with all of its current content onto the original Switch was a fantastic technical achievement, but Digital Extreme’s rapid-paced hack-and-slash is one title that could do with a native Switch 2 port. 

Speaking to Eurogamer, Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair revealed that the team is still waiting to receive hardware from Nintendo to develop a Switch 2 version of the game. However, as soon as the hardware is in the team’s hands, that port will enter development. 

“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the [Switch 2’s] high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it, [but] there’s just such a backlog for dev kits,” Sinclair explained. 

Sinclair said that the team “can’t wait” to get to work on a Nintendo Switch 2 port of Warframe, saying: “we definitely have plans. And when we get a dev kit we’ll be doing a custom build for Warframe, absolutely”.

Warframe’s developers aren’t the only ones still waiting for hardware from Nintendo. In fact, the developers behind Marvel Rivals – one of the most popular live-service games out right now – are also still waiting for dev kits to work on a Switch 2 port. 

Sinclair explained that the team wants to work on a new version of the game to push the new Nintendo handheld “to its limits” and take advantage of the system with upgrades to visuals and significantly “faster load times”. 

“There’s a lot of stuff that we can do to take advantage of extra cores, but we can’t until we get a dev kit,” Sinclair explained. “So, if you know anyone…” 

Third-party software coming to Switch 2 has been very sporadic. While there have been impressive ports like Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy and a great version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, there are few major third-party games coming to the system, and an almost complete lack of popular free-to-play titles.