Sandfall Interactive is exploring the possibility of bringing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to the Nintendo Switch 2, but warns the port faces significant technical hurdles. The game, which launched last year on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, swept multiple Game of the Year awards.
Developer comments on port prospects
Speaking with Automaton, producer Guillaume Broche said, “We are interested in looking for a way to do it, but it’s too early for us to announce anything at this point.” Colleague Tom Guillermin described the task as a ‘big technical challenge’, adding, “The Switch 2 is not as powerful as the PlayStation or the Xbox Series X. So, it’s an important thing for us to consider, especially given the size of our studio.”
Sandfall Interactive currently comprises around 33 people, plus contractors who helped develop the original release.
Unreal Engine 5 difficulties
The team explained that Expedition 33 uses Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite and Lumen technologies, which are typically too demanding for portable hardware to run at stable frame rates. Broche noted, “A lot of features don’t work on Switch 2.”
However, Epic Games is updating the engine with less taxing versions of these rendering models, such as Lumen Lite. Lead character artist Alan Reynaud stated, “[Epic Games is] introducing features like Lumen Lite now, which is easier to run than the standard Lumen, but these things take time to roll out, so we’ll have to consider the updates coming from Unreal Engine to determine what to do.”
While other Unreal Engine 5 titles like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Chronos, and Fortnite have been ported to Switch 2, the process remains particularly tricky for Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive’s interest in bringing the game to Nintendo’s portable console suggests a potential future release, though no timeline has been announced.
