If you’re a fan of fast-paced co-op looter shooters and own a Nintendo Switch, you’ve almost certainly asked will the first descendant be on switch at least once over the past year. The game’s blend of flashy combat, customizable characters, and crossplay support has made it a hit on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, so it makes sense that handheld players want in too. I’ve spent dozens of hours running Void Chasm runs and farming boss drops on my PS5, and I’ve frequently wondered if I could pick up my grind on the go without hauling my console around. This guide breaks down every official statement, industry pattern, and practical option for playing the game on Switch hardware.
Will The First Descendant Be On Switch? Official Developer Statements
As of the latest public updates, Nexon (the studio behind The First Descendant) has not formally announced a native Switch port of the game, but they also haven’t ruled out the possibility entirely. For the first 12 months after launch, the team focused almost entirely on fixing launch bugs, balancing endgame difficulty, and expanding crossplay support across existing platforms to keep their current player base happy. Nexon has explicitly stated that they are evaluating additional platform ports based on player demand and technical feasibility.
The biggest technical hurdle right now is the game’s engine. The First Descendant runs on Unreal Engine 5, which has much higher hardware requirements than older engine versions. The original Switch’s 8GB of RAM and older NVIDIA Tegra processor struggle to run Unreal Engine 5 games at acceptable framerates without significant optimization work. That said, Nexon has a long track record of porting their games to Nintendo hardware, including multiple MapleStory titles and Dungeon & Fighter, so they have the experience to make it work if they decide to allocate resources to the project.
Why a First Descendant Switch Port Makes Financial Sense For Nexon
Even with the optimization work required, there are a lot of reasons for Nexon to greenlight a Switch port sooner rather than later. The Nintendo Switch has sold over 139 million units worldwide as of 2024, making it one of the best-selling consoles of all time. That’s a massive untapped audience for a game that relies on a large, active player base to support its multiplayer and live service content model.
Looter shooters have also performed exceptionally well on the Switch platform. Warframe’s Switch port has maintained a consistent top 20 spot in the eShop’s most played games list for years, and the Borderlands franchise has sold millions of copies on Nintendo hardware. Over 30% of Switch owners regularly play multiplayer co-op games, according to recent industry surveys, which lines up perfectly with The First Descendant’s core gameplay loop. The game already has full cross-progression built in, so Switch players could bring their existing accounts over from other platforms without losing any progress, lowering the barrier to entry even more.
What to Expect If a First Descendant Switch Port Launches
If Nexon does announce a Switch port in the future, you can expect a few standard adjustments to make the game work well on Nintendo’s hardware. The team will almost certainly prioritize performance over raw visual fidelity, especially for the original Switch model, to keep the game playable during busy 4-player co-op runs with lots of particle effects. You won’t get the same 4K/60fps experience you’d get on a PS5 or high-end PC, but the trade-off for portable play will be worth it for most casual players.
Based on other live service shooter ports to the Switch, you can also expect these features:
- Full cross-progression and crossplay support with all existing platforms, so you won't lose your current character builds or earned loot
- Customizable graphics settings to balance performance and visual quality, including options to turn off particle effects for smoother co-op runs
- Gyro aiming support for precision shooting, a common feature in Switch ports of first and third-person shooters
- Exclusive in-game cosmetic items for Switch players to drive pre-order and launch day sales
It's highly unlikely that a Switch port would have any content gaps compared to other platform versions, since Nexon has kept all existing versions updated with simultaneous content drops so far. You might see slightly longer load times on original Switch hardware, but that’s a common trade-off for most ports on the platform, and it won’t impact core gameplay much for most players. If the next generation Nintendo Switch launches in the next couple of years, we also could see an enhanced version of the port with 60fps support and improved textures for the newer hardware.
How to Play The First Descendant On Switch Right Now
If you don’t want to wait for an official native port, there are two reliable workarounds to play The First Descendant on your Switch today, no waiting required. Neither option is as seamless as a native port, but both work well enough for casual grind sessions when you’re away from your main console or PC.
The first option is cloud gaming. Several cloud gaming services are available on the Switch eShop, and many of them support The First Descendant as part of their game libraries. You’ll need a stable internet connection with at least 15Mbps download speed to play without noticeable input lag, but if you have that, you can play the full version of the game with all your existing progress, no extra downloads required. The second option is remote play. If you already own the game on PC, PS5, or Xbox, you can download a free remote play app on your Switch to stream the game directly from your existing device to your Switch over your home Wi-Fi. Remote play is the best option for players who have a strong home internet connection and already own the game on another platform, since you don’t have to pay any extra fees beyond what you already spend.
The main downside of both workarounds is that they don’t work well when you’re away from a reliable Wi-Fi connection, so you won’t be able to play on a road trip or in a location with spotty internet. But for playing around your house or in a hotel with good Wi-Fi, they’re more than functional, and they let you get your grind in before an official port launches.
At the end of the day, we don't have a concrete release date or official confirmation for a native port, but all signs point to the answer to will the first descendant be on switch being a yes sometime in the next couple of years, especially with the launch of the next Nintendo console on the horizon. In the meantime, the workarounds we covered are more than good enough to get your grind in on the go if you can't wait for an official release. Make sure to leave feedback for Nexon on their official social media channels if you want to see a Switch port happen sooner rather than later, since player demand is one of the biggest factors they're considering for future platform support. Even if you only play a couple of runs a week, being able to jump into the game without being tied to your TV is well worth the wait.