An executive producer connected with EA has revealed that the Nintendo Switch port for FC 24, described as “a big project,” is “running great,” which could break a long-running tradition of bad form for the football series on the Switch.
EA will employ the Frostbite engine to bring the Switch port to life, which should improve it. In an interview with IGN (from a story by The Radio Times), John Shepherd says the Switch port for FC 24 would “have all the modes” and be “more representative of the Xbox One, PS4 gameplay.”
This is a promising sign, as historically, FIFA games have struggled to win over players on the Switch. Critically, they’ve been poorly received and considered as nothing more than an afterthought. Perhaps now the tables are about to turn.
Shepherd says the next Switch title in the popular football franchise (recently rebranded after dropping the FIFA) will include “a few differences” associated with the hardware, so it might be best to manage expectations. The exec touched upon “multiple years” of cross-department development “to get that working really nicely on Switch. The team “were reviewing it with Nintendo not too long ago,” and as a collective, the team was “really excited about it.”
“It was a collaboration not just with FC, but across EA. We had to get a lot of Frostbite support to get everything working on Switch. It’s a huge achievement, honestly.”
Some drawbacks worthy of note: the Switch port will not include cross-play, and players will receive an expanded Ultimate Team mode, unlike previous UT modes seen before.
FC 24 will launch on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on September 29, 2023.
