Aliens Fireteam Elite is getting a port to the Nintendo Switch. However, you may not like something about this version, and it’s something that the publisher seems to be hiding.
As caught by Twitter user KawlunDram, the game is being promoted by Cold Iron Studios without any proper indication that it is a cloud streaming version, and not a proper port.
Aliens Fireteam Elite was originally released on August 24, 2021, to the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Windows via Steam. This is a co-operative third person shooter made by Cold Iron Studios and licensed by Disney via 20th Century Studios.
As reported by Nintendo Life, it will be published to the Nintendo Switch next week, on April 26, 2023. It also comes with all the previous DLC, so gamers can also choose to buy the DLC separately or get a special edition with DLC bundled in, as they prefer.
Aliens Fireteam Elite received mixed to average reviews, but at least it did not turn out to be infamous disaster that Aliens: Colonial Marines became. Focus Home was its original listed publisher, but this Nintendo release is under Ubitus.
Ubitus recently hit headlines for signing a ten year deal with Microsoft so that they could publish Call of Duty games, but before this they were already known for specializing in making cloud versions of games to the Nintendo Switch.
In spite of that, they do not make it clear that this game is a cloud streaming version unique to the Nintendo Switch in their promotion. You can see on the official web eShop page that it only comes with this proviso:
“THIS GAME REQUIRES INTERNET CONNECTION TO PLAY. PLEASE TRY OUT THE FREE DEMO BEFORE PURCHASE.”
This is in contrast to the multiple Resident Evil remakes Capcom has published to the Nintendo Switch, that clearly indicate that they are cloud versions of those games on the title, and packaging.
While it’s good that Ubitus and Cold Iron emphasizes that players try out the free demo first, it’s still misleading that they don’t clearly spell out that they are selling a cloud streaming version of the game.
There is a real possibility that gamers will expect a real port of the game to the Nintendo Switch.
As loyal fans know, one of the Nintendo Switch’s unusual qualities is the number of ‘impossible’, but real, ports of current generation games. Among these ports are The Witcher 3, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and Doom Eternal.
The truth is there are sacrifices and drawbacks in these ports. However, the developers have done an admirable job of making very playable versions of these games. Most gamers won’t really notice these issues thanks to a combination of smart game design and some technical wizardry on the side of the developers.
And, of course, not everyone is eager to get into cloud gaming, in spite of what Microsoft believes. The least Ubitus can do is communicate clearly that they are selling a cloud version of Aliens Fireteam Elite, instead of making Nintendo players learn on their own.
