While it might be named SnowRunner, it looks like Feral Interactive’s off-road driving sim could finally be hitting the Switch during the beginning of summer (at least, in the northern hemisphere). This blurb comes from a random Russian retailer called Buka uploading a listing page for a Switch port of the game, complete with description, box art, price and even a release date — June 12, 2021.
Listing pages popping of unannounced games popping up on retailers’ websites is nothing new. However, there are several instances where such a situation turns out to be an error. But, there does seem to be some wind behind these particular sails.
In addition to SnowRunner for Switch getting this surprise listing in Russia, it’s also been rated on Switch over in Taiwan. While one random retailer might make a mistake, rarely does such a thing happen in two completely different countries. Thus, it does seem likely to believe that SnowRunner is indeed hauling its way onto the Switch.
SnowRunner is the sequel to Feral Interactive’s other impressive off-roading sim, MudRunner. That actually came to the Switch a few years ago. Aside from the obvious addition of snow and ice-covered terrain, SnowRunner includes a wider selection of vehicles (which can now be purchased, upgraded and customized), and much larger open-world maps to uncover and explore. Players also have a solid variety of different missions to complete, rather than the sole objective of log delivery that MudRunner focused on.
Not-so-covered tracks
It seems that Feral Interactive is treating its Switch port of SnowRunner similarly to the game’s predecessor. MudRunner made a surprise release on Switch back in late 2018, one year after it came out on other platforms.
If SnowRunner does indeed launch on the Switch this June, then it would be coming, yet again, one year after the other versions. This has become a bit of a trend with a lot of Switch ports. Nevertheless, if it’s for the sake of ensuring a quality release, it’s hard to feel too jilted. Speaking of quality, remains as one of the most impressive (yet criminally overlooked) ports in the Switch’s library.
There aren’t a lot of games focused heavily on off-road simulation, especially on the Switch. And considering just how complex the physics engine is and how densely detailed the environments are in Feral’s titles, it was quite surprising that the studio got it running on the Switch at all (and remarkably well, at that).
That said, SnowRunner is a larger, wilder beast. Even more powerful consoles like the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X broke a bit of a sweat getting it to run. So, no wonder Feral kept the Switch version out of the limelight for so long. That said, the team may have actually let the cat out of the bag early by accident.
Back when the game was still in its initial development, Feral launched an Instagram page for SnowRunner. Initially, it included a hashtag for Switch both in the page’s bio and in the description of the very first post from the page.
While those mentions of the hybrid were eventually removed and Feral never commented on it, this new discovery of a Switch port popping up does seem to indicate that the game was intended to be brought over all along. It seems Feral just didn’t want to shoot off a formal announcement too early. Here’s hoping we do finally get a real announcement sometime soon.
SnowRunner has received rave reviews across the board, including from PC Invasion, one of our sister sites. If the game does indeed launch on Switch, then you can expect a review from us here on Nintendo Enthusiast as well. I, personally, am looking forward to playing this; I already own it on PC and I’m very curious to see how the two versions will stack up.
