It has been over eight months since Doom Eternal ripped through the PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One systems to hark the return of the insanely overpowered protagonist of the Doom Guy. As the game currently enters the conversation once again for Game of the Year deliberations, there was one noticeable absence when discussing the id Software developed title.
Despite initially launching back in March 2020, the Nintendo Switch port for Doom Eternal will finally release this week on December 8. Considering the lengthy wait with regards Doom Eternal's development time for the Switch, developer Panic Button definitely had something to say about the process.
Senior Producer at Panic Button Cody Nicewarner alongside lead engineer Travis Archer spoke to Nintendo Everything about the the porting process of getting Doom Eternal on the Switch as well as why it took so long. The biggest factor, according to two, was simply the scale and scope of Doom Eternal. Despite the previous experience in bringing idTech titles to the Switch, Doom Eternal was "on another level entirely" when compared to the developer's other projects. With Doom Eternal touted as id Software's most ambitious game, Panic Button wanted to faithfully recreate that ambition so Switch players would not get a lesser experience. It was because of the drive for realizing this goal that the porting process required extra time.
The other factor many fans attributed to the delay was the significant impact COVID-19 had on the entire video game industry. When questioned if the pandemic played a hand in affecting Doom Eternal's delay, Nicewarner and Archer were open about COVID-19 not being much of a problem in the long waiting period. Despite having to shift from a traditional office setting to a work-from-home environment, outside of the early adjustment period the developer was able to continue working on the Doom Eternal port without issue.
With the long wait nearly over, many fans are hoping that Doom Eternal's Switch release matches the previous technical achievements of other id Software ports to the Switch. Panic Button's ability to successfully port titles to the Switch even received praise from Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines who considered Panic Button "masters of the platform."
While many fans are happy that the port will finally arrive after a nine month gap from the initial launch, it did have some unfortunate changes in the process. It was announced late in November that the a physical launch for Doom Eternal on Switch was cancelled. This was likely in relation to Doom Eternal's considerable file size on Switch with the Doom Slayer's most recent tour of hell taking up over 17GB of space. So players finally ready to take a portable journey with the Doom Slayer best start making space.
Doom Eternal is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One with a Nintendo Switch version releasing on December 8. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series platform versions are planned for 2021.
Source: Nintendo Everything