Cross platform games Switch: universal “time killers” or what you can play in the winter 2022 on a console by Nintendo
Yuriy SheremetGaming has been ignoring limits since it moved from massive gaming machines to more elaborate structures. The evolution of the gaming periphery forced developers to adapt rapidly and some of them succeeded.
One of such companies is Nintendo. Having grown from a garage studio into a giant corporation, the Japanese company found its niche in the video gaming industry. Not least because of the variety of gaming platforms where you can dive into Nintendo worlds.
These used to be those massive gaming machines but now, in 2022, these are hybrid portable consoles. Nintendo Switch is incredibly popular for a good reason. Ergonomics and comfort are the best marketologists of the Nintendo device. And there are also games.
There are exclusive Nintendo projects that are shared to the chosen or Switch owners. And there are those that could be played almost everywhere. The latter are the subject of our article.
What do we know about Nintendo Switch?
If we look at the etymology, Switch is a hybrid gaming console of the Japanese company Nintendo. The gaming device was released in 2017 and since then it has gained immense popularity among players.
We are using the word “immense” for a reason as this is what sales trends of Nintendo Switch suggest. In March 2022, 106 million copies of the gaming console were sold.
The younger version of Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, has also shown a great number of considerable sales. The younger brother of the family of portable devices was born on 20 September 2019, and in its conception it is designed to follow Nintendo 3DS.
However, the hype around Switch does not root from the variety of the choice of the console models. It is all about convenience of the platform and the selection of its games. And it is going smoothly in both aspects for Nintendo’s baby.
On 30 June 2022, 863 million copies of Switch games were sold. A part of this considerable number is Switch cross-platforms and other platforms.
So what can we play on Switch and other platforms?
Switch cross-platform
Due to a special structure of the Switch gaming console and its technical parameters, not all big-budget hits and projects acknowledged by the gaming community fall on the Nintendo console. Sometimes the release of the game on Nintendo Switch is impossible because of complexity of its porting, sometimes it is simply unprofitable. There are cases when Switch’s strict exclusivity policy is enforced as it is essential to deter competition.
However, there are numerous gaming projects including universally recognized hits and cross-platforms. We offer you to get familiar with some of them below.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Release date: 19 May 2015 (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Nintendo Switch release date: 15 October 2019
The best game of 2015 and one of the most representative examples of the RPG world, Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was unable to remain an asset of PC players and console users. CD Projekt RED understood it, so they gave the green light to the massive project for a Nintendo console.
The release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt occurred 4 years later after it had been released on other platforms. In October 2019, Switch users managed to plunge into the world of Geralt of Rivia and help him in search for Ciri.
Overwatch
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Release date: 24 May 2016 (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Nintendo Switch release date: 15 October 2019
Another project that deserved the title “The best game of the year” is available for cross-play on Switch devices and other more canonical platforms. Overwatch is one of the games from the Nintendo Switch library.
Developed by Blizzard, Overwatch came out in 2016 on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As well as in case of Witcher, in 2019 it became fully cross-platform, having appeared in the selection of Nintendo Shop.
Having gained popularity and lost it rapidly, the team shooter with an original lore from Blizzard went to the second round. In October 2022, a sequel of Overwatch 2 was released. Another entry of the dynamic shooter was not a success and was met by the gaming community with extreme restraint. However, one of the advantages of the game is its availability on Overwatch 2. Unlike its predecessor, the game became full cross-platform as soon as it was released. Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Switch.
By the way, the multi-player Overwatch 2 is free.
Diablo III
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Release date: 15 May 2012 (Windows, Mac OS X), 3 September 2013 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Nintendo Switch release date: 2 November 2018
Another project by Blizzard, but this time it is time tested. The legendary Diablo III became a domain of the Nintendo Switch library and a fully-fledged cross-platform.
The threequel Diablo tells what happens 20 years after the events of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. A deadly threat is looming over Sanctuary, so the main character is going to prevent it.
A player is given 5 classes to choose from in the standard Diablo III: Wizard, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Barbarian and Monk. Later the list of characters got an addition of Crusader, who appeared in RPG when an extension of the game, Reaper of Souls, was released in 2014, and Necromancer, who became a part of the downloadable content “Necromancer Returns”, which came out in 2017.
We should point out that Diablo III made it to Switch as an ultimate with all content additions. On 6 June 2023, we expect a release of Diablo IV that can become a part of the massive library of Switch cross-platforms.
Mortal Kombat 11
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Release date: 23 April 2019 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Nintendo Switch release date: 17 November 2020
Mortal Kombat is another series that does not need introduction. The eleventh part of the series became fully cross-platform a year and a half after it had been released.
Mortal Kombat 11 was not drastically updated: the basis is the same - fighting in the 2.5D style. However, Mortal Kombat 11 acquired some new features.
At first, the dreams of many players came true, Fatality and Brutality returned to the game. ALong with the returned classics, the eleventh entry introduced Fatal Bow and Krushing Bow. The first is activated when the opponent’s health drops to 30% or lower, and the second replaces X-Ray.
The MK 11 introduced a system of equipment that is traditional for the studio NetherRealm. Here it functions as a cosmetics update and does not affect the gameplay directly.
Minecraft
Developer: Mojang Studios
Release date: 18 November 2011 (PC, MAC Os X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Nintendo Switch release date: 21 June 2018
- Download Minecraft version 1.21 and 1.21.0: watch a sandstorm in the desert, search for an oasis, feed the jungle inhabitants with bananas, and much more! (69592)
- The Best New Technologies That Are Changing The Way We Play Online Games (2173)
- Minecraft: Let Your Imagination Run Wild (3185)
- Some of the Most Exciting Soccer Video Games of All Time (3096)
The list continues with a ubiquitous and hyper-popular cross-platform main sandpit of the gaming industry. Minecraft by Mojang Studio gives an opportunity to dive into a virtual reality for users of different platforms.
Before Nintendo Switch, the game made it there in 2018, but we should not scold Mojang for this. The baby of the Swedish company was unexpectedly successful, and its porting to other platforms needed additional efforts and money. They were found after Microsoft interfered.
In 2014, Mojang with the rights for Minecraft was purchased by Cupertino's business for 2.5 billion dollars. Since then Minecraft has been developing and growing making it to all platforms and becoming one of the most sought-after cross-platforms. The games of the Minecraft universe that were released later received the same status.
In May 2020, Minecraft Dungeons came out – a spin-off of the Minecraft series with single and multi-user modes. As it was before, it was available for users of all platforms.
Portal 2
Developer: Valve
Release date: 19 April 2011 (PC, MAC Os X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Nintendo Switch release date: 28 June 2022
Speaking about unsurpassed classics, it is hard not to mention the epic Portal. Nevertheless, the second entry of the game that gave Valve love of hundreds thousands users even though it became fully cross-platform quite recently.
Released in 2011, Valve’s creation made it to the portable Nintendo Switch console by 2022. Nintendo added not only the second entry of the famous puzzle to the Switch library but they also introduced the progenitor of Portal.
Fans of Portal received another opportunity to face with danger called GlaDOS. The collection of Portal for Switch enables playing with friends, and to be precise, with a friend. Now it is not only a fully-fledged cross-platform of Switch and other devices, but also a limited multiplayer.
FIFA 2023
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release date: 26 September 2022 (PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
The last game of the FIFA series that is released by Electronic Arts is expected to get to the top of cross-platforms for Switch. It is not surprising that the popularity of the main football simulator in the world lies in the audience of Nintendo Switch.
The Switch version of the monumental baby of EA has the same features as on other platforms. Here you can have access to online seasons, a female international championship, “career” and other classical modes of the game series.
Fortnite
Developer: Epic Games
Release date: 21 July 2017 (PC, MAC Os X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Nintendo Switch release date: 12 June 2018
Finishing the selection of classical Switch cross-platforms, we should speak about Fortnite. The massive furor made it to hybrid Nintendo consoles in June 2018, a year after the release on other platforms.
The famous battle royale on Nintendo consoles has all features that other platforms have: bold and dynamic gameplay, build, crossover battles and a crazy amount of fan-service.
It is impossible to imagine Nintendo Switch without Fortnite, and Fortnite without Nintendo Switch. You can play Fortnite on Switch with saved progress.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
Developer: Square Enix
Release date: 11 November 2020 in Japan, 13 November in the world (Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
PC release date: 30 November 2019
Let’s move away from side studios to semi-exclusives. The action rhythm game Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is one of them.
Developed by Square Enix, the cross-platform for Nintendo and PlayStation with Xbox in November 2020. A year later the project made it to the release on Windows.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is the fourteenth game of the Kingdom Hearts series. The events in the game are happening after the events in Kingdom Hearts III and to an extent they touch the content released by Re Mind.
Monster Hunter: Rise
Developer: Capcom
Nintendo Switch release date: 26 March 2021
PC release date: 12 January 2022.
Carrying on introducing the classic series for Nintendo. One of them is Monster Hunter that got another iteration with a subtitle “Rise” in 2021.
Monster Hunter: Rise sticks to the standard gaming formula that give the player freedom in their monster hunt. Rise received a warm welcome from users and critics that resulted in sales of the project.
In half a year Capcom reported 7,7 million sold copies. The impressive figure let the company consider the further ways of development of the series and one of the options was to transport Rise for PCs. Monster Hunter Rise is a Switch/PC cross-platform. In fact, it’s one of its kind, the game appeared on Nintendo of old generations like Nintendo 3DS and Wii.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Developer: Tribute Games
Release date: 16 June 2022 (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Speaking about one of the freshest cross-platforms for Switch and other platforms. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge came out in June 2022 and became a hit at once: the game was nominated for a number of prestigious awards including The Game Awards as the best multiplayer and best action game.
We should not claim that the cross-platform feature of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge contributes to it, however, it does help to form success around the project.
The plot of Shredder’s Revenge does not have anything new for players: the four turtles have to rescue New-Yorkers from Shredder’s and Krang’s attacks. This time the main villains decided to turn the Statue of Liberty into a controlled robot – the Statue of Tyranny.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge offers several modes of gameplay: arcade and plot. Also the game offers multiplayer that has received a huge deal of positive reviews.
Just Dance 2023
Developer: Ubisoft
Release date: 22 November 2022 (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch)
One of the freshest cross-platform games on Switch – Just Dance 2023 Edition. It’s hard to think of a more successful project for the portable Nintendo console with a chance to player anywhere. Of course, the gameplay that consists of dancing along hits of different periods helps here a lot.
Just Dance has got to our rating for a reason as its story with Nintendo started a long time ago. The game of the Just Dance series from 2017 was one of the leaders of products for Nintendo Switch when it was released. Since then the dancing rhythmic IP is a permanent guest of the hybrid console.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.