We have a fascinating new rumor about the still unannounced Switch 2.
As shared on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit by user Adrien190303, Nash Weedle dropped this bombshell: Nintendo’s upcoming console is getting a definitive edition of Elden Ring. Virtuos is working on this port, and it could be coming at the end of 2025.
Subsequently, Necro Felipe stated that he heard the same rumor all the way back in March, but he isn’t sure about the release date.
Originally released in 2022, Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s blockbuster collaboration with Game of Thrones author Georger R. R. Martin. It was a multiple GOTY winner and is already considered one of the greatest games of all time.
Subsequently, earlier this year saw the release of DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, which turned out to be so big that it is at a scale of a single game on its own. Some gamers are also talking about putting this DLC into contention in the GOTY category for this year’s video game awards events.
It’s easy to take this for granted, but Elden Ring was a cross-generation game, releasing across the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on top of Windows. So some gamers and content creators will be effusive in praise of this game’s performance on current generation consoles or high-end PCs. But FromSoftware actually made a very flexible game.
So, we can imagine this game could run well on a successor for the Nintendo Switch. Rumors and speculation around the system’s specs suggest that it could easily run games that were originally made for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Subsequently, with custom optimizations and programming, it may also run games that were made for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
And some speculation revolves around how the Switch 2 could outperform the Steam Deck, which may be much less likely, but is still quite possible. So, it should be instructive that Elden Ring is Steam Deck Verified, though if you actually have that portable, you’ll want to go in and customize some settings for it.
This rumor also seems to suggest that Shadow of the Erdtree is planned to be Elden Ring’s final DLC. That’s not a huge surprise, but it could be disappointing news for fans.
If the Switch 2 is getting a title as high profile as Elden Ring at launch, as well as other AAA third party titles like Monster Hunter Wilds and Metaphor Refantazio, it means that Nintendo is back to parity with the current generation of consoles.
That would be quite the future for Nintendo, with their console generation cutting in the middle of the generations that PlayStation and Xbox are in. If that’s the new normal for Nintendo, the rest of the industry may feel comfortable to keep that normal going moving forward. At least, until the next time Nintendo feels they need to take another wild swing to push the industry forward.
