In a conversation with blog Más Consolas, PES brand manager Robbye Ron has revealed that the sports franchise is now a step closer to the Nintendo Switch. This is because the series has just announced it is moving to the Unreal Engine, which is supported by the hybrid console.
The previous engine, which is still being used in the incoming PES 2021, is the FOX Engine from the old Kojima Productions. It presented a limitation in the fact that Nintendo Switch doesn’t support it, and also wasn’t financially viable to make the proper modifications to make it work on the platform.
“I think we are closer to that. The Unreal Engine will help us a lot to be a little more flexible on what platforms we appear on,” said Ron.
“I can’t assure you yet, but I think we’re getting closer to getting there (to Switch). Whenever we announce a new game, people let us know that they are still waiting for the Switch version,” he acknowledged, though.
“It is something we want, because people ask us and there are many consumers who have stopped playing PES just because we are not on that platform,” he added.
“We are focused on seeing how we can (do it), and I think that the change of engine will help us a lot to fulfill the dream to several Nintendo fans,” was his final comment.
So, it might still take some time, but transitioning onto Nintendo Switch is apparently starting under the hood. With the new engine, there should not be any other limitation of sorts to prevent Konami from considering such a version.
While at the beginning of its lifecycle, it could be considered some kind of risk to work on a specifically tailored version, now that Switch has achieved such strong commercial performances, a port does seem worth a try.
