The Godot game engine is rapidly evolving, providing an ever expanding list of features and improvements. This makes it a great choice for developing a wide range of games, from 2D to 3D and from smaller to larger titles. Despite its strengths, exporting games for consoles has posed challenges due to the open-source nature of the project.
Up until this point, if you aimed to port your game developed in Godot to the Nintendo Switch, you had to undertake the task independently, subscribe to W4Games Consoles or rely on porting services such as Lone Wolf Technology or Pineapple Works. While these can be effective solutions, they might not be suitable for smaller indie projects with tighter budgets.
Enter RAWRLAB Games. They recently announced a free porting option for the Nintendo Switch, compatible with projects created using versions 3.5.x and 4.1.x of the engine.
However, there are some caveats; notably, there is no support for projects using C# or GDNative/GDExtension, meaning that only GDScript is supported.
Nevertheless, developers can attempt to convert native extensions into internal engine modules. The resulting ports are also not highly optimized but prove adequately efficient for most small to mid-sized game projects. Additionally, access is only granted to authorized Nintendo Switch developers.
On the bright side, in addition to being free, the source code is distributed under the permissive MIT License, providing extensive rights for usage and modification. This allows developers with C++ knowledge the opportunity to add and integrate additional functionalities as required.
Despite some of the limitations, this solution represents another significant step forward for the Godot game engine, enhancing its accessibility for a broader community of creators—specifically, those looking to publish their games on the Nintendo Switch.
For additional details, make sure to visit the official RAWRLAB games announcement.
