Sandfall Interactive’s breakout RPG *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* may never grace Nintendo’s latest hardware without serious concessions. One year into the Switch 2’s life, the studio behind last year’s critical darling has confirmed interest in a port but labeled it a “big technical challenge,” citing the console’s relative power deficit and Unreal Engine 5’s stubborn refusal to play nice on the platform.

The core issue stems from the game’s heavy reliance on UE5 tools—particularly Blueprints for rapid prototyping by a small 26- to 30-person team—and features like Lumen that simply do not function on Switch 2 yet. Lead artist Alan Reynaud noted the arrival of lighter options such as Lumen Lite, but stressed these updates “take time to roll out,” leaving smaller studios at Epic’s mercy while bigger players like Capcom and Square Enix have already cracked the hardware. Quotes from co-founder Tom Guillermin and CEO Guillaume Broche echo the same reality: the Switch 2 cannot match PS5 or Series X muscle, and a team this size cannot afford endless optimization cycles.

This is not an isolated hiccup. Borderlands 4’s Switch 2 version remains stalled after an indefinite delay, while Elden Ring’s Tarnished Edition finally arrives August 28 as a crucial stress test. For *Expedition 33*, which has already moved over eight million copies, the port remains a possibility rather than a promise—dependent on future UE5 advancements that may or may not arrive before the next console generation resets the board.

The predictable result is another reminder that not every third-party title will grace every Nintendo machine, no matter how much fans beg.