Square Enix Confirms Dragon Quest XI for Switch Is Based on PS4 Version; Explains Lack of 3DS Version

Giuseppe Nelva April 8, 2018 9:25 AM EST

Square Enix confirms that Dragon Quest XI for PS4 is the base for the upcoming Switch version and explains why the 3DS version is not coming west.

For the longest time, Square Enix has kept the Nintendo Switch version of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age under wraps. Now that the English version has a release date at least for PS4 and PC, the curtain is starting to rise on the Switch version as well.

One of the mysterious elements of Dragon Quest XI is actually rather basic, and it’s whether the port will be based on the PS4 version of the game or not, especially considering the radical version with the 3DS version.

During an interview with Producer Hokuto Okamoto, DualShockers asked exactly that, and Okamoto-san confirmed that the Switch version will indeed use the PS4 version as a base.

Speaking of the 3DS version, we also heard why it’s not coming west.

According to Okamoto-san, one of the concepts behind the creation of Dragon Quest XI is the culmination of thirty years of history for the franchise. The team wanted existing fans to experience the game while giving new players an opportunity to enjoy it. Considering that there hasn’t been a mainline Dragon Quest game on home console for about thirteen years, the team looked at what could be the best way to bring it to the overseas market, and they truly felt that the PS4 and Steam version would serve as the best outlet to that end.

We also asked more details on the fact that the Switch version will take a “long time” to be released in the west. When the team started developing the game, the Switch version was already part of the outlook, but at that moment in time, the SDK (software development kit) for the Nintendo Switch was not ready within Unreal Engine 4, so the game could not run on Nintendo’s console.

Now that the SDK that supports Switch has been implemented in Unreal Engine 4 the development team was able to start working on the Switch version. Unfortunately, that SDK is supported only in a version of Unreal Engine 4 that is higher than the one the original game is built upon. That means that now the team has to update the engine, and this comes with its own set of issues. At this moment in time developers are in the process of resolving those issues.

Square Enix considered releasing the Switch version at the same time as the PS4 and PC versions but considering that they don’t have a solid outlook on how long the development for on Nintendo’s hybrid console will take, they believe it’s going to be a long ways out, and they don’t want fans on PS4 and PC to have to wait that long to be able to enjoy the game.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will launch on PS4 and PC via Steam on September 4. The PS4 version of the game can already be pre-ordered on Amazon. A Switch version will also come down the line, but it will take a while.

[on-location reporting: Jordan Boyd]

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