Between the demands for the feature, all the new content and a Nintendo Switch version announced over the weekend at TennoCon 2018, you’d think that Warframe would take the high road and offer cross-play. Unfortunately that is not the case. The Nintendo Switch port of Warframe, handled by Panic Button, will not allow cross-platform play or the ability to move game accounts between different platforms.
Warframe creative director Steve Sinclair has stressed that the “goal” is cross-platform play in the future, but right now it’s not available across any platforms. “Our goal is updating the PS4 version in sync with the PC version with all the same content, features, and events,” Sinclair said. “For those things to happen — for the ecosystem to be shared — we cannot diverge.”
Digital Extremes’ studio manager Sheldon Carter stated that the team’s current development schedule simply doesn’t allow for additional work for all platforms to be updated “simultaneously” at the moment.
“Given the extra balancing passes needed to make this functionality fair for all platforms and the delay in releasing content that would be necessary for simultaneous updates, I unfortunately don’t see Warframe cross-play existing in the foreseeable future,” said Carter.
The co-op shooter situates players as members of an ancient race of warriors known as the Tenno. The Tenno utilize powerful Warframes as they wage battle against various factions such as the Grineer, Corpus, Orokin, and Infested. It includes various elements borrowed from other titles including parkour, melee, third-person shooters, and even RPGs to make a exciting online experience. It’s been online for five years, and now that it’s coming to Nintendo Switch, it’ll likely see a large boost in its player base.
The Nintendo Switch version of the game doesn’t have a confirmed release date, but it’s been available since 2013 on PlayStation 4 and PC and since 2014 on Xbox One.
