{"id":744483,"date":"2026-07-05T11:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/744483\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T11:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:29:10","slug":"rise-of-the-tomb-raider-nintendo-switch-2-interview-devs-on-bringing-the-game-over-lack-of-switch-1-version-gyro-controls-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/744483\/","title":{"rendered":"Rise of the Tomb Raider Nintendo Switch 2 interview: devs on bringing the game over, lack of Switch 1 version, gyro controls, more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Tomb Raider game has been added to the Nintendo Switch 2 lineup. During the most recent Nintendo Direct, Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced and released.<\/p>\n

Following up on Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, this is the second entry in the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy. It\u2019s the first time that Nintendo players can try out the action adventure game.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the port, we caught up with product manager Anna Grant and senior game producer Kay Gilmore. We touched on a number of important topics, such as the actual porting process, the reason for not releasing on the original Nintendo Switch, and the possibility of supporting gyro controls for aiming in the future.<\/p>\n

You can find our full discussion below.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Aspyr brought Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition to Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch. Is there any insight you can share as to how the game sold on these platforms?<\/p>\n

While we can\u2019t share specific figures, we love releasing games on Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 and the Tomb Raider franchise is no small fish in their pond. All we can say is that Nintendo is one of our favorite platforms to work with, so we foresee many more projects on Switch in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled!<\/p>\n

What sort of work goes into a port like this? How difficult is it to release a game on a new platform?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more work than you\u2019d expect! The first and most important tenet in our development process is to do justice by the original title. Players want the magic they remember and we deliver that on a modern console where we can take advantage of the latest advances in gaming tech \u2013 bringing games that were previously only playable on large devices to much smaller ones. The Switch 2 is phenomenal as a portable platform but that also creates a challenge for us to bring these very high fidelity, graphically intense games onto it. Running a game like Rise of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2 at 30 fps required a lot of work, and we\u2019re really proud of the experience we brought to gamers in the final product.<\/p>\n

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Which version of the game is the Nintendo Switch 2 release based on?<\/p>\n

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is based on the original Xbox exclusive version with all of the additional content that has come out since the initial release. In 2016, the 20 Year edition (what could also be called the Game of the Year edition) was released on PlayStation 4 with new content and DLCs to honor the 20 years since Tomb Raider\u2019s original release in 1996. It\u2019s 2026 now, so the Switch 2 version is our nod to a franchise that has made a major impact on gaming and culture for the last three decades. Here\u2019s to another 30 more!<\/p>\n

Were there ever plans to bring Rise of the Tomb Raider to the original Nintendo Switch considering it was a cross-gen game on Xbox 360 along with the PS4 and Xbox One?<\/p>\n

We considered it, but ultimately the original Switch simply doesn\u2019t offer the performance capabilities required to do a game like Rise of the Tomb Raider justice. The Switch 2 is a more powerful platform that\u2019s given us the opportunity to port such a graphically-rich title and has a lot of potential for our future releases.<\/p>\n

Along those same lines, since the original Nintendo Switch wasn\u2019t a part of the release plans, did that make it any easier at all to put Rise of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2?<\/p>\n

Absolutely. Simply put, the Switch 2 has a lot more to offer. Bringing the game to the original Switch would\u2019ve meant cutting almost all the visual effects such as graphics, particles, fog, snow, tress effects and environmental assets. To bring it to Switch 1 would mean removing the immersive experience and changing too much of what the original game meant to players, and that\u2019s not a compromise on quality we\u2019re willing to make.<\/p>\n

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Did the team explore potential support for 60 frames per second at all? Could an update make this possible?<\/p>\n

Yes, we spent months trying to get the game to run consistently at 60 fps. We heard players\u2019 feedback on the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition release regarding the sacrifice of visual fidelity in favor of better performance, so we wanted to make sure Rise of the Tomb Raider was the best version of the game we could possibly get on Switch 2. Despite its age, Rise of Tomb Raider is a much more GPU heavy game than its predecessor. As a result it couldn\u2019t run at 60fps without serious compromises that would have frustrated players.<\/p>\n

We know there was interest in unlocking FPS, so we looked into the feature but the longer we spent on it the more obvious it became that the performance wouldn\u2019t have been consistent enough to make players happy. They would\u2019ve run into stuttering and other frustrating experiences during busy action sequences that would ruin the immersion.<\/p>\n

One of the bigger requests we\u2019ve seen is for the game to add gyro controls for aiming. Would adding this in be at all possible in the future?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen this feedback and will be discussing the feature. No promises, but we\u2019re looking into it.<\/p>\n

How did it come to be that the game would be announced during the latest Nintendo Direct? Was it an Aspyr suggestion or a Nintendo suggestion?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re always looking to create the biggest and most exciting launch for each of our games and, fortunately, Nintendo are also big fans of Tomb Raider! Rise of the Tomb Raider is the most beloved of the Survivor Trilogy and it\u2019s great to work with a partner like Nintendo to get the word out.<\/p>\n

We have to ask the obvious question \u2013 after Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Rise of the Tomb Raider, is it only natural to assume that we\u2019ll also be seeing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Nintendo Switch 2 as well?<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t our first port in the franchise (we\u2019ve already put out Tomb Raider I-III, IV \u2013 VI, and Tomb Raider Definitive Edition on the platform) and we hope to continue to work on Tomb Raider games for many years to come. Obviously, we\u2019re incredibly excited about the upcoming launch of Legacy of Atlantis and will do everything we can to be a part of the Tomb Raider franchise in the future.<\/p>\n

Rise of the Tomb Raider is out on Nintendo Switch 2. In case you missed it, be sure to check out our interview about Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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