Nintendo has just announced the first phase of support for a new Switch feature. With this new system, gamers will be able to take advantage of a cross-save function between PC and the Nintendo Switch. The prospect of a cross-platform communication between PC and Switch is not something that I would have predicted. So this announcement caught me by surprise. Anyway, here’s how it all works.
A given game, one that has the functionality of course, will allow gamers to transfer their saves from their PC account to a Switch one. Players would then be able to pick up right where they left off on one platform on the go with the Switch. Although some details remain vague, we can make some guesses as to what the service will look like and how widespread support will be.
Check it out in the trailer from Nintendo below.
Of course what titles will ultimately support this feature is determined not by Nintendo, but the developers of the games themselves. Cross-platform play is getting more pushes in the console scene, but the crossover from PC to consoles still has a pretty big amount of work to do. Right now, the charge for this feature is being led by popular games like Divinity: Original Sin 2, Fortnite, and SMITE.
I wouldn’t count on every title in the PC space going this route though. Even though many PC gamers want this feature, as being able to continue progress on the go is an exciting idea, not every developer will be on board with it. One game that I can think of that would be in this category is Warframe. The gulf of content differences between the PC and Switch ports of that game make it hard to believe Digital Extremes would ever go along with this idea.
It remains to be seen how widespread adoption will be, even though fans would enjoy such an idea. The Switch has certainly been popular even without such a feature. The launch in China alone has helped push a ton of units into the wild. Nintendo even sold 50,000 units on the first day of sales in China.