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Warframe Wants to Hit Switch 2 HARD—But Dev Kit Delay Says “Not Yet”
July 20, 2025More than five years after its surprisingly smooth arrival on the original Nintendo Switch, Warframe on Switch 2 is still sitting in the “we’d love to” category, and not for lack of enthusiasm. Developers Digital Extremes are more than open to upgrading the free-to-play sci-fi shooter for its next-gen Nintendo debut, but there’s one small hitch: they don’t have a dev kit.
“So if you know anyone,” joked Warframe creative director Rebb Ford at Tennocon 2025, lightly nudging viewers during the community Q&A. It was a playful plea, but the message was clear: there’s no technical headway without Nintendo’s green light.
The Switch 2 may be hotly anticipated among fans and third-party studios alike, but even an acclaimed free-to-play game like Warframe is facing the industry’s oldest bottleneck—access. With Nintendo still playing it close to the vest, Switch 2 dev kits remain under NDA or in short supply, possibly limited to first-party developers and select partners, ones with closer historical ties to Nintendo’s family tree.
Why a next-gen Warframe on Switch 2 just makes sense
Let’s make this simple: Warframe absolutely deserves a next-gen console experience. The game has a constant stream of new content, including fresh cinematic quests, revamped progression systems, overhauled UI phases, and now full cross-platform play. But on Switch? That version, let’s say, is functional, but certainly showing its age.
The original port was a technical marvel in 2018, developed by Panic Button, the studio known for wrangling games like DOOM and Wolfenstein onto the modest handheld hardware. But Warframe’s demanding engine has pushed the OG Switch to its limits for years. Players have long requested better framerates, faster load times, visual parity—stuff that simply isn’t feasible on hardware originally released in 2017.
The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 (still unconfirmed officially in name, but widely referenced) is expected to feature improved memory bandwidth, an upgraded GPU, DLSS support, and possibly an Ampere-based Nvidia Tegra chip. What does that mean for a title like Warframe? The chance to finally play the game as it was intended—on a portable platform, but with zero compromises.
In terms of graphics fidelity alone, a Switch 2 version could potentially run Warframe at 60fps with dynamic 1080p in handheld and even better on docked mode. With cross-save enabled and cross-platform matchmaking expanding rapidly, it’s frankly a golden opportunity for DE and Nintendo.
And the community is ready. Warframe’s console fanbase continues to grow, and with the arrival of the Whispers in the Walls questline and further lore expansions teased at Tennocon, players are already prepping their builds, squads, and relic loads for more grind-heavy co-op action. A new-generation Switch 2 version would be a very welcome middle ground between mobile gaming mobility and fidelity-rich home consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Despite that, there’s no timeline. No announcement. Just a tongue-in-cheek callout to Nintendo with a “we’d love to” grin from across the convention stage.
So what’s holding Nintendo back?
There’s no public info yet on why Digital Extremes hasn’t received a dev kit. But a few educated guesses aren’t hard to come by. Nintendo has always been cautious with hardware access, often keeping early dev kits limited to long-time partners and internal studios while third-party developers wait in line. Warframe doesn’t rank as a traditional flagship Nintendo brand, and that could impact its dev kit priority.
Still, it wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo opens the floodgates late in the cycle. Once official announcements roll out, and they surely will, considering growing rumours and component leaks, it’s possible dev kits will be distributed more widely.
Until then, Warframe’s Switch port remains exactly where it’s been: functional, brave, but increasingly outdated. And while Xbox Series and PS5 players enjoy next-gen smoothness, Switch Tenno continue to power through 30fps missions with noticeable latency and cluttered visuals. Fair? Not really, but that’s the game… for now. And if someone at Nintendo’s office happens to be listening: send DE that dev kit already.
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