Borderlands 3 and its DLC are finally coming to Nintendo’s hybrid platform – for real this time, according to a new rating list.
Borderlands 3 is rumoured to be coming to Nintendo Switch finally. This is probably exciting news for some gamers. But this isn’t the first time a Switch port of Borderlands 3 has been mentioned.
If Borderlands 3 comes to Nintendo Switch, it wouldn’t be the first for the franchise.
Mainline instalments in the series have landed in Nintendo waters before. A slightly modified Borderlands Legendary Collection included Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2. It was also available on cassette but required a hefty download and installation. It is typical of more giant games that publishers port to Switch to avoid paying a premium for larger cassettes.
The renewed speculation comes from the PEGI (the European publishing industry body) rating. The organization briefly hinted at a Nintendo Switch version yesterday in its listings for the Director’s Cut and Designer’s Cut versions of Borderlands 3. Plus, all the DLC for the game!
However, a previous PEGI rating designation for April 2021 has already been released, yet the game has not been released for Switch. The April entry was published in error and eventually disappeared from the PEGI site. A 2K Games representative said the game was not tied to the platform. Today, references to a Nintendo Switch version with a release date of 1 December 2022 have since disappeared.
It’s unclear at this point whether Borderlands 3’s release will be available both physically and as a download or if it will instead come in a cloud-only version to take advantage of more powerful hardware, similar to Hitman 3 and the Kingdom Hearts games that preceded it.
Cloud versions are popular in Japan, where reliable internet access is more prevalent. Poor infrastructure in much of North America sometimes leads to poor performance, as 2K Games discovered with its disappointing Stadia release. But that hasn’t stopped publishers from occasionally giving it a try. Capcom also plans to bring Resident Evil Village and other titles in the franchise to Switch in a streaming format.
Borderlands 3 is designed to take advantage of robust hardware and online play. While these aren’t among the Switch’s main strengths, it would be nice to see another instalment of a beloved franchise come to Nintendo’s platform, allowing affordable online play for those who may not have room in their budget for more horsepower hardware. Rumours of Borderlands 3 coming to Switch may have been around for years, but it’s never too late for them to become a reality. More options are better for everyone.
Source: Nintendo Life, PEGI
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