There’s a new rumor floating around that a Nintendo Switch port of GTA V may be on the way. At least, that’s what a user on X who covers rumors and leaks related to the GTA series is suggesting.
According to @Budzcario, Rockstar seems to be working on a Switch version of the fan-favorite GTA V. Information stems from the recently leaked source code on GTA VI and other Rockstar files. One piece of the code references the Nintendo Switch alongside its NX64 codename. And some are taking this to mean that Rockstar is indeed working on a Switch port for the fifth GTA installment.
After all, Red Dead Redemption was ported to Switch earlier this year. So why not GTA V? The two games were released within a few years of each other and on the same generation console. Even if GTA V was released at the very end of that life cycle. Sure, anything is possible. Rockstar could be working on a Nintendo Switch port of GTA V. But such an endeavor seems unlikely. What seems more plausible is that these references are potentially from old plans to bring the game to Switch that may have eventually been scrapped.
GTA V Nintendo Switch rumor may be based on outdated plans
Not to rain on anyone’s parade because, quite honestly more games on the Switch are welcomed. But it’s important to keep expectations in check when these sorts of rumors surface. Yes, the leaked GTA V source code mentions the Nintendo Switch a couple of times. But that alone should make anyone skeptical. Because instead of being referenced many more times, the Nintendo Switch is only referenced twice. You can see one of those mentions in the source code pointed out by @Budzcario.
Rockstar might have had plans to develop GTA V for Switch at one point. But one user on Reddit who has seen the source code suggests the game was never in development for Nintendo’s darling portable console.
Over on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit, user u/RafaelSw lays out a short reasoning of why they think the game was likely never in development in the first place. One of the main factors revolves around the just two Nintendo Switch references compared to the console’s “NX64” codename. Which appears quite a few more times. The speculation is that Rockstar had planned to port the game to the NX64 but didn’t know at the time what that might mean. Since the Switch hadn’t been announced yet.
Once the studio discovered that NX64 would be running on the ARM architecture, plans were “likely scrapped” says GameRant. It can’t be said for certain that the Switch won’t get a port of GTA V. But given the console’s age, its troubles with running more modern titles like MK1, and the vastness of GTA V’s landscape, Nintendo’s aging hardware could very well struggle to handle the game.
2023-12-30 15:06:34