Switch 2 Drama: Devs Say Nintendo Is Tightening Access to Dev Kits — Elden Ring and Borderlands Ports Hit Snags

Nintendo’s new console has strong sales, but developers and observers are reporting quirks around who gets to make Switch 2 games and how those ports perform. Several studios have said they struggled to get development kits, and recent hands-on reports from Gamescom sparked fresh questions about performance and access.

Why some developers say they can’t get Switch 2 dev kits.
Performance concerns from Gamescom previews, including Elden Ring and Borderlands 4.
Examples of good and bad ports, plus comments from industry figures and links to original sources.

Reports from Gamescom and early previews

At Gamescom, journalists and developers shared impressions that some Switch 2 ports face performance limits in handheld mode. For example, early hands-on reports indicated that Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition had trouble remaining stable in handheld once players moved past the tutorial.

Similarly, social posts claimed the Nintendo port of Borderlands 4 struggled with multiple enemies on-screen, but other footage later showed the game running at 30 FPS for many encounters, with some hitches during area transitions.

Okay I’ll just put it bluntly:
Borderlands 4 on the Switch 2 could barely run at 30fps with 4 enemies on screen in docked mode. It had horrendous input delay, and the render resolution was seemingly turned all the way down.
I’ll talk more about it in a video maybe tomorrow 😬
— EpicNNG (@EpicNNG) August 22, 2025

Not all ports perform the same

However, ports vary. For instance, Cyberpunk 2077 has been praised as a strong Switch 2 adaptation, and previews of Final Fantasy 7 on the console drew high praise from technical outlets. Digital Foundry called the Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy 7 “the best-looking thing they’d experienced on the hardware.”

Digital Foundry’s coverage was referenced in reporting on the title and its visuals. Read more at NintendoLife.

Image: CD Prokekt Red

Dev kits, access, and security

Multiple outlets reported that several studios — including indies and some larger teams — still had trouble securing Switch 2 development kits earlier in the year. In mid-July, Digital Extremes said their studio couldn’t get a Switch 2 development kit and mentioned a big “backlog” of demand.

Reports also said that some studios were required to follow strict security measures around early kits. Russell Kay, senior product manager behind GameMaker, said: “We had to have a locked room, things like that, and only certain people had access to the kit.”

Publishers and developers discussed similar constraints with industry outlets. See reporting from IGN and GamesIndustry for additional context.

Digital Extremes / IGN

GamesIndustry report on indie access

GamesSpot coverage on dev kit shortages

Who gets in, and who doesn’t

Industry figures have noted odd patterns in who received kits early and who did not. John Linneman of Digital Foundry said: “I’ve spoken to plenty of developers where they were either told that they should just ship it on Switch one and rely on backwards compatibility. There’s a lot of developers that are unable to get Switch 2 dev kits. We talked to a lot of devs at Gamescom this year and so many of them said the same things. They wanna ship on Switch 2. They would love to do Switch 2 versions. They can’t get the hardware. It’s really difficult right now.”

Others in the technical community noted both strange exclusions and inclusions among studios that got early access. Ollie Mack said: “Some weird inclusions as well.”

Ongoing reporting and anonymous tips

Reporting has continued into August. An anonymous industry tip shared with content creator Jeff Gerstmann echoed claims that some studios couldn’t obtain dev kits when they wanted them.

As a result, observers point out that port availability and quality can differ widely depending on the developer’s access to hardware, the studio’s tools, and the scope of the project.

What we can confirm

Concrete facts from reporting so far:

Some developers reported trouble getting Switch 2 development kits earlier in 2025.
Hands-on previews at Gamescom flagged performance issues for certain Switch 2 ports in handheld mode, notably Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition and early impressions of Borderlands 4.
Other ports, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and previews of Final Fantasy 7, received positive technical attention on the same hardware.
Industry sources described security measures and selective access around early dev kits.