It appears there’s a good reason whyWarframehasn’t been natively ported to theNintendo Switch 2, and it involves Digital Extremes' lack of a dev kit for the new console.
As TennoCon 2025 continues this weekend, the who’s who of Warframe’s development team continues to reveal a ton of information behindthe development of everything Digital Extremeshas to offer. In aTennoCon 2025 Q+A live streamsession (reported byIGN), the studio CEO, Steve Sinclair, explained why Digital Extremes hasn’t made a native Warframe release on the Nintendo Switch 2, despite Warframe receiving a port to the Nintendo Switch only one year after that console’s launch.
The Nintendo Switch port of Warframe is at least playable on the Nintendo Switch 2 through backwards compatibility.
While Sinclair expressed excitement regarding the prospect of a dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port, he offered an easy-to-understand explanation for why the successor console doesn’t have a native port. Digital Extremes can’t develop for the Nintendo Switch 2 without a console dev kit.
Digital Extremes Doesn’t Have A Nintendo Switch 2 Dev Kit Right Now
While it may be obvious to other developers why Digital Extremes would need the dev kit, it may not be as obvious to players. For the uninitiated, a dev kit is a set of tools used by developers to craft software for that specific platform. Normally, dev kits are customized to meet the needs of specific developers, with onboard debugging features and access to hardware services that the general public do not have access to. These kits are the bread and butter of game development, and Digital Extremes has an empty fridge where the Nintendo Switch 2 is concerned.
Steve Sinclair says, “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," showing Digital Extremes' commitment to the Nintendo platform. Sinclair does realize there is a “backlog” of dev kits for the Nintendo Switch 2, but mentions all Digital Extremes would need to get the ball rolling is “just one.”
Although Digital Extremes doesn’t have a timeframe for a dev kit, fans can rest assured that Digital Extremes will craft a native Nintendo Switch 2 Warframe port, sooner or later.
