Codemasters considering if Switch 2 is a “good fit” for F1 

It’s been over a decade since an official Formula 1 game has been playable on a Nintendo platform. F1 2011 was ported to the Nintendo DS, and Codemasters published F1 2009, developed by Sumo Digital, on the Wii.

But the last official Nintendo Formula 1 game was the Wii U version of F1 Race Stars, a kart racing spin-off released a few months before Mario Kart 8.

Since then, Formula 1 fans have been left out on Nintendo platforms, with Codemasters’ F1 games skipping the Switch since it launched in 2017. However, that could change with the Switch 2 – but it depends on several factors.

Codemasters having “conversations internally” about bringing F1 to Switch 2

With its more powerful hardware capable of running complex games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws, a Formula 1 Switch game could be technically feasible.

“We need some smart people to look at it and see what the console can actually do and whether it’s actually a good fit for the kind of experience that F1 is,” F1 25’s Creative Director Gavin Cooper told Traxion when asked about the possibility of F1 games coming to the Switch 2.

“We’ll certainly be having those conversations internally, but there’s nothing we can talk about at this point.”

Whether there is a big enough audience to justify a serious Formula 1 game on Nintendo’s family-friendly platform is debatable. That said, the sport attracts a broader audience than ever before, and the Switch 2 is set to become a best-seller, with pre-orders sold out everywhere.

Last year, F1 Manager also made the surprise jump to Nintendo’s platform, becoming the first and only official Formula 1 game on Switch. With Frontier’s management game now retired, there’s a gap that Codemasters could capitalise on.  

What could be a setback, though, is the lack of analogue controls for accelerating and braking, which isn’t ideal for serious racing games that require precise and minute inputs: “It’s those kinds of considerations that impact the decisions”, Cooper added.

Why F1 25 won’t be on PS4 or Xbox One

F1 25 is racing onto PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on 27^th May for those who pre-order the Iconic Edition before the general release on 30^th May. For the first time since F1 2015, the series is also skipping the ageing PS4 and Xbox One consoles.

“It’s really to set us up for the future,” F1 25’s Senior Creative Director Lee Mather explained to Traxion last month. “It releases resources that would have previously been serving the previous generation of consoles.

“When you consider the scale of our game as well, it’s a huge QV resource we need to test across all those platforms. It opens up the ability for us to focus on other areas of the game, but also for the long term.”

Are you hoping to play Codemasters’ official F1 games on the Switch 2? Let us know in the comments below.