Nintendo has not been nearly as aggressive as Microsoft or Sony when it comes to acquiring other game studios in recent years, but on Tuesday, the company announced its acquisition of Shiver Entertainment. The Miami-based developer previously ported third-party titles Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1 to the Switch, and though Nintendo says that “Shiver’s focus will remain the same,” this move could signal a major strategic shift for the Switch 2.
Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki suggests that this acquisition might be evidence that Nintendo plans to put a greater emphasis on third-party games in the future. While countless smaller indie games launch on the Switch, many big-budget titles skip the console altogether. It’s not nearly as powerful as the PS4 or the Xbox Series X, so it requires a great deal of work to bring a game like Dragon’s Dogma 2 or Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to Switch (when it’s possible). That’s where a developer like Shiver Entertainment comes into play.
Mochizuki also reminds us that Nintendo and Microsoft signed a 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo consoles, including Call of Duty. There are no Call of Duty games currently available on the Switch, but that won’t be the case for the Switch 2.
Considering the Switch is the third best-selling console of all time, Nintendo’s decision to focus on first-party games over multiplatform releases clearly paid off. That said, there’s no guarantee what worked this generation will be the best move for the Switch 2.
Rumors suggest the Switch 2 will be more powerful than a PS4 Pro but lower-specced than an Xbox Series S. If that’s actually the case, it should have enough horsepower to run some of the most anticipated multiplatform games set to launch over the next few years. And now Nintendo owns a developer that can work on porting those games to Switch 2.
Nintendo has yet to unveil its next game console, but Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed in a recent earnings call that it will be announced by March 2025.
