Will we actually get Genshin Impact on the Nintendo Switch 2?

Do you remember, nearly five years ago, when a 30-second trailer appeared confirming that Genshin was coming to the Switch? Yeah, I do too, but so far, nothing. Will Genshin Impact come to the Nintendo Switch 2? It seems doubtful, honestly, but we’re holding out hope.

The trailer in question is still up on the Genshin YouTube channel, if you want to have a look. In the description, Hoyoverse asks for beta testers and introduces Liyue as the new area, which shows you how long ago this trailer came out. The description also states that “Genshin Impact will come to Nintendo Switch in the future”, and that the game “is expected to be available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android”. The only platform it’s not on from this list is the Switch.

It feels like a fever dream that it ever got an announcement, to be honest, given that we’re now in the 5.x patches of the game and about to head to the seventh region later in 2025. The Nintendo page is now gone, despite the fact that the trailer remains. So why didn’t we get the game on the handheld?

The main reason is probably to do with the original Switch’s performance capabilities. Anyone who’s played – or tried to play – Genshin on a PlayStation 4 knows that the hardware barely handles it, and the Switch would likely be the same. Older phones struggle with the game, and it’s only since I’ve got a fancy RedMagic that I’ve found no issues while roaming Teyvat. It’s likely that the world would look muddy on a Switch, and the combat animations would slow down incredibly, especially if you’re hyperblooming with numbers all over the place. Heck, my PC even struggles sometimes.

Looking at the eShop, there aren’t really any gacha games on the Switch at all, and this will likely carry over to the Switch 2. I don’t mean games that have a fun little machine you get things from, like the Zonai Device Dispenser in Tears of the Kingdom, or Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s in-game collection mechanic. I mean full-on, essentially pay-to-win games where you buy pulls from the store to roll on a banner and eventually get the character or weapon you want. Genshin, Honkai Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, Azur Lane – you get the picture.

I’m not personally sure on Nintendo’s viewpoint on lootboxes and top-ups in games, but given that there are none of the big gachas on the platform, it’s likely got something to do with the ‘gambling’ aspect of it. Balatro, the epic card game, even got taken down briefly from the eShop while it awaited an age rating change to 18+ due to the gambling themes. This means that Genshin may receive an 18+ rating too, eliminating a lot of its audience.

Heading back to the lootbox mechanics, we can look at two other free-to-play games that have the option to spend: Fortnite and Overwatch 2. While you can choose to spend a lot on both of these games, you’re guaranteed to get what you pay for, be it cosmetics or a battle pass. In Genshin, if you buy a ten pull of wishes to get a new four-star character, you’re not guaranteed. Ever.

There’s a chance you will never get that Genshin Impact Ifa you crave so much. You can guarantee the five stars, but not the four. This, unfortunately, can encourage extra spending, and it can easily get out of hand. It may be that Nintendo doesn’t want a hand in this. Plus, have you tried using the eShop recently? It kinda sucks, and as an avid Hoyo-head myself, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with that to top up my Welkin Moon.

It could also be due to the need to be constantly online when playing Genshin. While this is fine if you’re using a Wi-Fi connection, you wouldn’t be able to play it on the go. A lot of players choose to play Genshin on mobile as it means they can play it anywhere, any time, including commutes or lunch breaks. The Switch isn’t as flexible for this.

While the game could very much run on the Switch 2 with its souped-up hardware, there’s a lot more than just potential performance issues holding it back. I don’t even think hardware is a question anymore, given that the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and Cyberpunk 2077 run just fine on the handheld. I believe it’s down to the payment and online issues.

Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll get Genshin Impact on the Switch 2. I will eat my hat gladly if it does come out, though, but out of even just Hoyoverse’s games, I’d say we’re more likely to see Honkai Star Rail on Switch 2, or even Zenless Zone Zero. A fun fact for you, the ZZZ merch pack we got to celebrate the game’s launch includes… a Switch game case. Hmm, very interesting.

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