Paladins: Champions of the Realmhas been available on the Nintendo Switch since 2018 but will soon be unplayable on the platform.Paladinswas ported to the Switch just a month after its official release in 2018 and was Hi-Rez Studios' first game on the console.
Paladinswas announced in 2015 as a hero shooter from Hi-Rez Studios, developers of the popular MOBASmite.Paladinswas first released as a closed beta in 2016 and would not get an official release until May 2018 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Switch port coming the following month. The timing of its announcement and release would lead to it being compared toOverwatch, particularly as both feature different playable hero characters. However,Paladinshas built up a fanbase of its own and is regarded by many as one of thebest fantasy shootersplayable today.
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The developers ofPaladinsannounced today on its website and Twitter that the game will no longer be supported on Switch following the release of the Midnight Masquerade update which is set to release in late June. The developers cited the Switch version’s performance issues as something that kept the game from reaching their standards, adding that “platform-specific problems” took too much time from the team. As of today, it is no longer possible to downloadPaladinsor any of its DLC from the Switch eShop, and Hi-Rez encourages players to link their progress to their Hi-Rez accounts so they can continue their progress. This news comes just a week after the Hi-Rez gameRogue Companywas announced to be shutting downlater this year.
Fans on Twitter responded to the announcement with remorse as the game had many players on Switch. This disappointment was exacerbated by the fact thatcross-progression forPaladinsis not available on PS4, meaning that these fans are even more limited in where they will be able to carry their progress. Other games such asFortniteandFall Guysoffer support for cross-progression on Switch, though these versions of the game typically run at lower framerates and may experience other performance issues.
As the Switch is less powerful compared to the other consoles, it has become a common occurrence for games to experience optimization problems when ported to the hybrid console. These difficulties are not exclusive to multiplayer games either as theSwitch version ofSkyrim: Anniversary Editionsuffered from optimization issuesupon launch. With no news yet of a more powerful Switch model and modern games continuing to become more graphically intensive, it is possible that future games will either not be ported to the console or become delisted. WhilePaladinsmay be the latest game to experience this, it is unlikely to be the last.
Paladins: Champions of the Realmis available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Switch version will no longer be playable in late June 2023.
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