Bethesda recently confirmed that this year’s bombastic first-person shooter Doom Eternal will not be getting a physical release on the Nintendo Switch. While a release date hasn’t been confirmed as of this writing, Doom Eternal will eventually release on Nintendo’s platform, but it will be digital-only.
Doom Eternal released earlier this spring on other platforms to genuinely high praise from both critics and fans alike. Moreover, the game was a commercial hit with a record-breaking 3 million digital sales in its opening month. While Bethesda catered well to the PC, PS4, Xbox One, as well as Xbox Game Pass users, Nintendo Switch users were kept in dark.
Reports regarding the cancellation of the Nintendo Switch version of Doom Eternal appeared on November 19 when GameStop started calling its customers to tell them that their pre-order has been canceled. No news on the existence of the Nintendo Switch version for so long also made the matter worse as many started to assume that this news was real. Thankfully, the Bethesda Support Twitter account was quick to respond and assured fans that there has been no announcement regarding the cancellation of the Nintendo Switch port of Doom Eternal.
Additionally, while speaking to IGN, Bethesda confirmed that while a Doom Eternal release on Nintendo Switch is imminent, it won’t be a physical one, meaning the only way to buy the game is through Nintendo’s eShop. Meanwhile, the customers who pre-ordered the physical version will receive a full refund.
Nintendo’s support for third-party AAA titles has always been inadequate in many ways. Popular games like Divinity 2, Torchlight 2, Pillars of Eternity, etc., also didn’t see a physical release on Nintendo Switch. The Outer Worlds port was also supposed to be digital-only, but after a lot of backlash, Obsidian decided to release the game on physical cartridges, alongside the digital version. While there’s no concrete reason for such occurrences, the lesser popularity of these titles on Nintendo’s platforms seems like a valid explanation.
While Bethesda has been happy seeing the sales of its games on Switch, this comes as a surprising move as it locks customers out of options. Whatsoever be the case, the release of a third party, AAA game, on a handheld device is always exciting and it will be interesting to see how the Doom Eternal port turns out.
Doom Eternal is now available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with a free upgrade planned for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN
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