It’s funny how rumors work. A week or so before The Game Awards aired, a rumor surfaced that Bandai Namco was going to unveil SoulCalibur VI at the event. What’s more, the game was rumored to be coming to the Nintendo Switch, marking the series first appearance on the system since SoulCalibur II. However, when the announcement trailer came, the systems the game was on didn’t include the Switch.
This threw off a lot of people, mainly because the Switch seemed like a perfect candidate for the fighting game. At present, numerous fighting games are already on the Switch, with more coming, so, why isn’t Soul Caliber VI?
Well, in an interview with Metro, Producer Motohiro Okubo revealed the true reason why the game wasn’t on the Nintendo Switch: timing.
“Soulcalibur VI development started more than three years ago. And nobody knew anything about Switch back then. So, as a matter of fact we are not working on Switch, as of now. But of course, personally, I’m interested in the platform. So if the Unreal Engine can adapt to Switch, and evolve itself, then maybe the possibility will be more.”
You can’t blame them for that, there was no way the game would’ve come to the Wii U if it was still around, and the Switch was a bit of a risk for those who didn’t believe in it. In fact, Bandai Namco to date only has a few titles on the Nintendo platform, with three more coming next year in a big way.
The statement about the Unreal Engine is promising though, as the Switch does use the engine, and to great effect. In fact, a major exclusive coming to the Switch is Shin Megami Tensei V, which is made from the ground up with Unreal Engin 4. So, it’s very possible that the game could be ported to the Switch, it’s just…a matter of timing.
