How Nintendo Switch has changed Firaxis' approach to making Civilization
Firaxis was not prepared for the success of Civilization 6 on Nintendo Switch.
The iconic strategy developer, which is also known for the XCOM series, is a specialist in making PC games. It puts all its energy into building titles for that platform and then, somewhere down the line, it's the job of another studio to make those games work on consoles (and even mobile).
Firaxis' core audience has always been on PC. And although the console versions allow the studio to reach more players, if you want the best Civ or XCOM experience, you'll want to download them on PC.
But with Civilization 6 on Switch something interesting happened. Yes, the developer was able to reach new (and lapsed) players via the platform, as you'd expect. But also Firaxis' core audience, the ones with the powerful gaming PCs, were buying it, too.
"We weren't sure when [the game] first came out on Switch," admits executive producer Dennis Shirk. "We were like: 'Are people going to play it for that long on a handheld?' And the answer was yes, yes they will."
He continues: "We hadn't expected Switch to be a huge thing. But suddenly, it became a really huge thing. We found that a lot of our PC players were getting the game on Switch because they could take their game with them. And so with [Civilization 7], you can transfer your save game and keep playing. It's compelling."
As a result of player's behaviour around Civilization 6, plus the fact that PS5 and the Xbox Series X have "the same power as most modern PCs", Firaxis took the "natural" decision to make Civilization 7 for all platforms and release them at the same time.
"It is a big lift," acknowledges Shirk. "We've got a great team and getting that huge game on the Switch is always a challenge."
It's not doing this by itself. It has teamed up with Behaviour Interactive to help with the console ports, but Firaxis is actively involved.
"We have a whole new way that we're working," Shirk explains. "The porting model… we're not comfortable with that. We
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