Warframe Developer Insists ‘Backlog’ of Dev Kits to Blame for Lack of Nintendo Switch 2 Port

Digital Extremes says the “backlog” of dev kits is the reason players have yet to see an official Nintendo Switch 2 port for Warframe.

Studio CEO Steve Sinclair explained why the team behind the popular space ninja action game hasn’t created a port for Nintendo’s sequel hybrid console during a press Q&A IGN attended ahead of today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream. He said the Digital Extremes tech team is “so excited” to see what a Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port would look like but can’t even begin development until they get their hands on the necessary hardware.

“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it,” Sinclair said. “There’s just such a backlog for dev kits. So, yeah, if you know anyone… just one, that’s all it would take.”

Digital Extremes brought its 12-year-old multiplayer hit to Switch in 2018, allowing longtime players to enjoy all that Warframe has to offer, at home and on the go. It is available to play through Nintendo’s new console but only through backward compatibility, with Nintendo including it on a list of Switch 2 titles that still suffer from start-up issues.

Digital Extremes said it’s still investigating the cause of these hangups, but it’s the enhancements that a Switch 2 version of Warframe could bring that have players truly excited. Sinclair teased faster load times as just one of the potential upgrades.

“I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans. When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”

The Switch 2 launched on June 5, 2025, introducing new features such as Joy-Con mouse functionality, improved graphics, and enhanced social tools. Although its launch lineup was able to lean on third-party support with titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Deltarune Chapter 1 – 4, Split Fiction, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, and Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, early adopters remain on the lookout for more games to fill out their libraries.

As players clamor for more games, other indie developers say they, too, are in need of dev kit access. Into the Restless Ruins creator Ant Workshop, Citizen Sleeper 2 developer Fellow Traveller Games, Unreal Engine support studio Tanglewood Games, and more spoke about dev kit scarcity with GamesIndustry.biz last month. Insider Nate the Hate also reported that many developers across the indie and third-party spaces have been unable to start work on Switch 2 games due to a lack of dev kit access (via TheGamer). It’s currently unclear which publishers currently have access to Switch 2 dev kits or when they will become more available.

For now, there’s no word on when Digital Extremes or many of the other dozens of developers without dev kits will receive the tools they need to bring their games to Switch 2. As more titles slowly trickle in, you can read our 7/10 Nintendo Switch 2 launch review. You can also check out everything revealed during today’s TennoCon 2025 livestream here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).