One of the first games to be officially announced for the Nintendo Switch(even before the console had been revealed) was
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and it was a huge disappointment to find out that not only the
Nintendo 3DS version of the game would not be localised outside of Japan, but also that the Nintendo Switch version was delayed indefinitely.
Now, the people over at
GameSpot have shed some light on the story behind the delay thanks to an interview with
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age game producer Hokuto Okamoto during this year's PAX East. And the reason is that the Unreal engine needs to be updated before it can support the Switch.
According to sources, Mr. Okamoto said that "
Specifically with regards to the development, this game was developed on the Unreal Engine, but the version for Unreal Engine needs to be updated, I suppose, in order to support Switch. In that sense, the development is still expected to take a very long time."
Okamoto also says that, while
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is still in development for the Nintendo Switch, the game is "
still a long ways out". He also mentions that they did intend to delay both, the PlayStation 4 and Switch, versions and release them at the same time but opted out of it.
"
Of course, we did consider releasing PS4 and a Switch version around the same time if that was even a possibility, but right now the outlook for the Switch version is still unclear at this moment in time." In regards to the localisation of the game he also says that the Japan team wanted to release the game overseas so that fans could enjoy the game as soon as possible and that's why they released the Steam and PlayStation 4 versions.
It looks like Nintendo fans will have to keep waiting for the
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age to be released, although no official date has been announced. The PlayStation 4 and Steam versions of the game are still a go so fans of the series can still pick it up this
September.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will be available on the PlayStation 4 and Steam when it releases on the 4th of September.