Until now, if you wanted to port your Godot game engine developed game over to the Nintendo Switch, you either did the work yourself or broke out your credit card and either subscribed to W4Games Consoles or used a porting service such as Lone Wolf Technologies or Pineapple Works. Thankfully, thanks to the efforts of RAWRLABS Games (and others) there is now a free option for porting to the Nintendo Switch.
Details from the announcement blog:
We are pleased to announce the availability of a free Godot Engine port for authorised Nintendo Switch developers, supporting projects made with versions 3.5.x and 4.1.x.
This port represents a collaborative effort, co-authored by multiple members of the forums on the Nintendo Developer Portal. It underscores our commitment to make Godot Engine more accessible to a wider range of creators.Key features of this Godot Engine port:
· Complimentary access: Available at no cost to all authorised Nintendo Switch developers.
· License: The source code is distributed under the MIT License, offering broad usage and modification rights.
· Software provisioning: The software is provided “as is,” without any implied warranty or support of any kind.
· Basic functionality included: This port includes only basic functionality.
· No C# or GDNative/GDExtension: Only GDScript is supported. Native extensions are not supported, but you can try to convert them into internal modules.
· Optimization Level: It is important to note that the port is not highly optimized but is adequately efficient for most small to mid-sized game projects.
· Expandability: Having access to the source code, developers with C++ knowledge have the opportunity to add and integrate additional functionalities as needed.
· No support provided: This port is provided without support. Developers are encouraged to engage with the community on the Nintendo Developer Portal for collaboration and assistance. We recommend partnering with porting companies for medium or large-sized projects.
· Access Procedure: Access can be requested through the Nintendo Developer Portal.Additional details are available for authorised Nintendo Switch developers in the forum section of the Nintendo Developer Portal.
As stated above, you do need to be a certified Nintendo Developer to access the source code. You can learn more about this new free Nintendo Switch port for the Godot game engine in the video below.