Apex Legends release for Nintendo Switch delayed

Respawn Entertainment has announced that they are delaying the official release of Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch, after announcing their launch on Steam for PC players.

The news that Apex was coming to Switch was first shared during the EA Play Live event on June 18, where they revealed the next stages of the game’s development. It finally put a host of rumors and leaks to bed since Apex’s debut back in 2019, as players wanted to immediately take the Arena with them on-the-go shortly after launch.

The news would have opened the game to expand its player count by millions, but Switch players will now have to wait a little longer after further delays were announced.

Apex Legends Nintendo Switch release date

Respawn confirmed that the new Switch port has been delayed until early 2021 after it was expected to arrive with the Steam version of the game.

• Read more: Apex Legends crossplay announced for PS4, Xbox One, PC

“For those who game on the Nintendo Switch, we’re still hard at work on the port, but in order to do justice to the game and make it into the great experience Switch players deserve, our team needs more time,” Apex Game Director Chad Grenier confirmed, on October 23.

“This year has brought on unexpected new challenges, to put it mildly, and we don’t want to rush anything out,” the Respawn dev continued, “Switch owners can expect to get their hands on Apex Legends next year.”

While it is being delayed, he confirmed that it still arrive with all of the expected features, “of course, when Apex Legends does launch on Switch, it’ll come with support for cross-platform play, our latest seasonal content, and full feature parity with the other versions of the game.”

This won’t be the first time a major battle royale comes to Nintendo Switch. EA and Apex Legends are going to compete against Epic Games and Fortnite for the many battle royale fans on the platform.

The initial announcement was a longtime coming. Reports for a Nintendo Switch port have been around for about as long as Apex Legends has been released to the world.

• Read more: Apex Legends Lost Treasures event: trailer, Crypto Town Takeover, more

In a 2019 interview only months after Apex’s release, Project lead at the time, Drew McCoy, said that the company knew a Nintendo port was on many people’s wishlist. Since then, it’s been a waiting game for Nintendo fans who have been waiting to get into the Arena.

There were a lot of questions revolving around the technical limitations of the Switch that would be a hurdle for a port, but the developers are now committed to releasing it early in 2021.

It’s unclear what the download size for the Switch version will be, so stay tuned to Dexerto for all the latest information on the upcoming Apex Legends port.