Bilawal Bashir 
Smash-hit RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 may be making its way to Nintendo Switch or possibly the Nintendo Switch 2, judging from a recent discovery.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an impressive RPG with plenty of content, characters, and locations to explore. It’s a massive game that’s been praised for great replayability, a massive story, and the massive amount of freedom afforded to players. The game was initially released on PC exclusively and is slowly making its way to other platforms. It is already doing big numbers on PlayStation 5 with a MacOS release on the horizon.
Is Larian Studios gearing up to capture the humongous Nintendo fan base too? There’s actually reason to think so. While Baldur’s Gate 3 has actually been kept off Xbox Series X/S consoles due to the weaker horsepower of the Series S, it may find its way onto Nintendo consoles at some point. Here’s why some are thinking this may be possible.
What’s the Baldur’s Gate 3 and Nintendo connection?
A long-time Nintendo employee, Etsushi Iizuka, has gotten a “Special Thanks” in Baldur’s Gate 3 credits. He is one of more than 100 people listed under this section of the credits. While a simple thanks wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, what Iizuka does for Nintendo gives some traction to the rumor.
Iizuka helps port third-party games over to Nintendo’s portable console. Games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Shin Megami Tensei 5, and Dragon Quest 8 all give “Special Thanks” acknowledgments to Iizuka on the Nintendo Switch versions of the games.
Iizuka’s first credit came in 2008 for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Most of his portfolio consists of games he helped port to Nintendo hardware. This has led to speculation that he is also aiding Larian Studios in bringing Baldur’s Gate 3 to the Nintendo Switch, or perhaps its successor.
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 coming to Nintendo Switch?
It is extremely unlikely that Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on Nintendo Switch, but it could potentially be ported to the Nintendo Switch 2.
News broke in August that the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware is finalized with plans for a 2024 release. Another report stated Nintendo secretly showcased a Switch 2 prototype to certain visitors at GamesCom 2023. Leaks have suggested that the new platform is capable of running games such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake better than its native PlayStation 4 version.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is reportedly set to have specs that are roughly comparable to the Steam Deck, which was capable of running Baldur’s Gate 3 with a mix of medium and low graphical settings. With more than 12 months of extra time to port the game to the weaker hardware, Larian could potentially get the game running on the weaker hardware. In the meantime, Nintendo fans looking to scratch the CRPG itch can look at Larian Studios’ Divinity: Original Sin 2, which landed on Switch in 2019.
