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For the past one and a half years I've been working on a secret Factorio project. Today we are finally revealing it.
As announced during Nintendo Direct, Factorio is coming to Nintendo Switch! It's already in the final stages and the global release date is set for 28th October 2022.
Here is what to expect:
- All of the game's content will be available. The gameplay is not simplified and there are no artificial limits.
- There will be no mod support.
- Multiplayer will be available, including playing cross-platform. Nintendo Switch Online is required for online play, but not required for LAN games.
- Save files are compatible between all platforms. There will be no save transfer feature at launch, but you can transfer your saves using multiplayer.
Performance
One of the first questions you might ask is how does the game perform. We worked on many optimizations to make sure the game performs as well as possible. You should expect 30-60 FPS (both in TV mode and handheld mode). As for UPS, the average player should be able to go through all of the content and launch a rocket, while staying at 60 UPS. But don't expect to be able to build mega-bases without UPS starting to drop, sometimes significantly.
Can you really play Factorio with controllers?
Factorio was developed for 10 years with only keyboard and mouse in mind, so making sure the game is fully playable with controllers was no easy task. Playing with a controller is slightly slower, and will take some getting used to (just as it does when playing with keyboard and mouse for the first time). After becoming familiar with it, I find it very comfortable. I recommend everyone to play through the first levels of our tutorial campaign, as it's a great way to get acquainted with playing Factorio with a controller.
What about Steam Deck and PC controller support?
I actually started working on the port for Nintendo Switch before the Steam Deck was even announced, so first I will finish what I started. Currently the controller support is optimized for and built around the Nintendo Switch system, the Joy-Con™ controllers, and their features. There's still more work to be done for generic controller support, such as dealing with the many controller types, handling mods, ability to switch between "keyboard and mouse" and "controller" modes, etc. Also I want to make it a priority to focus on the initial feedback coming from Nintendo Switch players, to make sure any bigger issues are ironed out quickly. So generic controller support is planned, just that like most things, it will take some time.
Please help with translations
The standard of quality for releasing on Nintendo Switch is high, so shipping with incomplete translations (like we usually do) is not an option. For this reason the game will only include complete and good quality translations. On around the 26th of September I will add the final localization for the release, so I ask our community translators to please make sure your language is 100% translated on Crowdin if you want it to be included in the release for Nintendo Switch. As many texts were added or changed, I will be looking at Crowdin issues the following days, to help translators. Translations for Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese are especially important. Big thanks to our community translators who help make the game more accessible.
The development journey
In next week's Friday Facts, I plan on going into more details about the long development journey, so stay tuned for that.