For Nintendo Switch owners hoping to see the upcoming Bethesda title, Fallout 76, make its way to the system, don’t hold out.
Bethesda Softworks’ Vice President Pete Hines said while speaking at PAX Aus that, “it just wasn’t doable,” when asked by GameSpot if Fallout 76 would be coming to the Switch. Specifically, Hines said that like every title they release, Fallout 76 was at least considered for the console, but ultimately, just wasn’t going to happen.
“The Switch is something I can say with certainty that it’s a part of every conversation with every dev we have now about what we’re doing going forward because we consider it to be a viable platform,” Hines said. “If the game will work on it, we want it to be on every platform possible. Fallout 76 is not because it just wasn’t doable.”
Hines also explained the thought process behind Bethesda titles and their consideration for the Nintendo system.
“‘Does this work on the Switch? Do you have a plan for the Switch?’ It’s not a mandate,” Hines said. “Everything we do has to be developer-led, but it’s something we want to make sure is on folks’ radar.”
When asked about why Bethesda so heavily leans into the platform, which Hines touched on by explaining that Bethesda enjoys being seen as the third-party Switch leader, Hines’ answer was simple: money. According to Hines, if a Bethesda game comes to Switch, it’s because the company believes it is a smart commercial decision to do so. In short, the company thinks it will make money.
“You go where the money is because that’s how you stay in business,” Hines said. “What we have seen compels us to say, ‘[Switch] is a viable platform for the kind of things we do going forward,’.”
While Bethesda won’t be releasing Fallout 76 on the Nintendo Switch, it already has a growing library of titles that call the system home — Skyrim, Doom and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus are available for the system now with Doom Eternal and The Elder Scrolls Legends in the pipeline.
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