Hi-Rez Studios announced today that its team-based shooter Paladins is coming to the Nintendo Switch on June 12 via the $30 Founder’s Pack. A free-to-play version will be available later in the summer. The Switch version of the game will have crossplay support with Xbox One but not with PlayStation 4, as is usual for these games because of Sony’s policies on crossplay.
Paladins entered early access on PC in September 2016, although its official release was just on May 8. It’s a hero shooter similar to Overwatch, but it was able to find its own audience thanks to being free-to-play. So far, the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions have attracted over 25 million players.
This Switch version will help expand that audience. Nintendo’s newest console has been a big hit since launching in March 2017, and Paladins will help satisfy a group of gamers — those that love competitive, team-based shooters. While Overwatch is available on PS4 and Xbox One, Blizzard’s game is not on Switch.
Although the Switch’s hardware is not as powerful as its competitors, Hi-Rez Studios is promising that Paladins will run at 60 frames per second in both docked and handheld modes. This is thanks to the studio’s custom in-house port of Unreal Engine 3.
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The Founder’s Pack gives players access to all of Paladin’s current 36 champions. You’ll also have access to all future characters.
We first had an idea that Paladins might be coming to Switch thanks to a leak last week. That same leak suggests that Fortnite, Dragon Ball Fighterz, and more could be coming to the system. Since Paladins is now official, those other releases seem likely.
