Factorio Will Release on the Nintendo Switch Next Month

Fully released in 2020 after four years in early access, Factorio is a popular and critically acclaimed 2D strategy game currently available on Windows, Linux and MacOS. 

In Factorio, the player begins on an alien planet after their ship crashed. They are tasked with constructing a factory to amass the huge amount of resources needed to build a new ship to escape, while under ever-increasing attack by the planet's native fauna.

There is good news for RTS fans who own a Nintendo Switch, as Factorio will be coming to that platform on October 28th. 

Sometimes games that are ported from PC to consoles can have their features toned down by varying degrees to make up for hardware limitations of the console. However that doesn't appear to be the case here. All Factorio content will be available from launch on the Switch, and the gameplay has not been simplified. 

As one would expect, there is no mod support for the Switch version, but multiplayer will be available, including cross-platform multiplayer. Nintendo Switch Online will be required for multiplayer, except for LAN games. Save files will be compatible between platforms, and they can be transferred using Multiplayer. 

In terms of performance, the developers have been working on optimizing the game to ensure it runs well on the Switch. According to a blog post written by a developer on the Factorio website, framerate is expected to range between 30 and 60. UPS (updates per second, essentially the game's "clock speed") should stay at 60 most of the time, but may drop considerably if the player builds a "mega base". 

In the same blog post, the developer admitted the challenges of getting Factorio to play nicely on a Switch controller. Playing on the controller as opposed to keyboard and mouse is a little bit slower, in terms of the speed at which the player can perform actions in the game.

Factorio is developed by Wube Software, and will be coming to the Nintendo Switch on October 28th 2022.