A Tarnished Legacy: Elden Ring’s Port to Switch 2 Raises Alarming Questions for FromSoftware

 The gaming world held its breath when FromSoftware announced that its magnum opus, Elden Ring, would be making its way to the new Nintendo Switch 2. For many, this was a dream come true, a chance to take the sprawling, epic adventure of the Lands Between on the go. However, as hands-on impressions from Gamescom 2025 emerge, that dream has quickly soured. The performance of the Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition in its current state is being described as a “disaster” in handheld mode, a problem that FromSoftware desperately needs to address.

Performance Catastrophe: A Troubling Gamescom Demo

Reports from journalists and players at Gamescom are painting a bleak picture. While the game’s visuals are said to look “really good” on the new hardware, the performance is a major, and for some, an unplayable issue. The game, which reportedly targets a 30fps cap in handheld mode, is struggling to maintain even that, with framerate drops to 15fps or lower during simple actions. As one reporter noted, “It was like playing Ocarina of Time,” a cutting remark that underscores the severity of the performance issues.

This is not just a minor annoyance; for a game like Elden Ring, where combat is built on precise timing and reaction, these framerate drops are catastrophic. Dodging an enemy’s attack or parrying a boss can become a guessing game, turning a challenging but fair experience into a frustrating and fundamentally broken one. It’s a betrayal of the core gameplay loop that has made Elden Ring a cultural phenomenon and a best-selling game of its generation.

FromSoftware’s Troubled History with Optimization

While the Switch 2 is a new console with a distinct architecture, the poor performance of this port is not entirely surprising. FromSoftware has a long and well-documented history of releasing games with performance issues. Even on more powerful hardware like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the initial launch of Elden Ring was plagued by stuttering and frame pacing problems. While many of these issues were eventually patched, the fact that a major port for a new console is arriving in such a state raises serious concerns about the studio’s approach to optimization and quality control.

This is a particularly worrying development given that the Switch 2 is meant to be a showcase of modern gaming on a hybrid console. Other demanding titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077, have managed to run well on the new hardware, proving that it’s possible to optimize complex games for the system. The failure of Elden Ring’s port to meet this standard suggests that FromSoftware’s technical debt is a long-standing and unaddressed problem. The company’s reputation is built on its masterful game design and rich lore, but its technical execution has often lagged behind.

A Looming Pandora’s Box and the Future of FromSoftware’s Ports

The messy launch of the Elden Ring Switch 2 port opens a Pandora’s box of potential issues for FromSoftware. As the company continues to expand its reach and bring its titles to new platforms, its ability to properly optimize its games is more critical than ever. The negative press from Gamescom and the ensuing backlash from the community could have a ripple effect, impacting not just sales of the Switch 2 version, but also casting a shadow over future FromSoftware projects.

This is especially concerning when considering the upcoming The Duskbloods, a FromSoftware-developed Switch 2 exclusive scheduled for 2026. This new title, built from the ground up for Nintendo’s hardware, will be a true test of the studio’s technical prowess. If the Elden Ring port is a sign of things to come, it’s hard to be optimistic. The company needs to prove that it can deliver a polished, performant experience from day one, not just on its primary platforms but on all systems it supports. The brand’s reputation for uncompromising quality is on the line, and the stakes could not be higher.

The solution is clear: FromSoftware must delay the release of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 and dedicate the necessary resources to fix its performance issues. Rushing a broken product to market, especially one as revered as Elden Ring, would be a disservice to both the game and its fanbase. The company has an opportunity to close this Pandora’s box and reaffirm its commitment to technical excellence. The gaming community is watching, and for a studio that prides itself on creating challenging but fair experiences, delivering a truly optimized port is the ultimate test.