Ed Boon, co-creator of the renowned fighting game series, has told fans that the errors sick the Switch version would be addressed and resolved in an upcoming update in response to significant complaints about the performance and overall quality of Mortal Kombat 1 on the Nintendo Switch.
The game's formal release on Tuesday was preceded by early access for Premium Edition owners, at which time users began to express concerns about the Switch edition's performance. While it was widely assumed that the Nintendo Switch version would not equal the visual capabilities of the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 editions, gamers were disappointed by the major graphical downgrades and performance issues. Many others questioned whether it was fair to ask Nintendo fans to spend $70 for what appeared to be an inadequate product.
Ed Boon recognised these concerns in an exclusive interview with BBC Newsbeat and told players that improvements were on the way. "A number of the concerns that have been raised will absolutely be addressed," said Boon. "Ideally, we would have released the version we envisioned from the start, but any issues we've identified are already on our list and will be fixed."
Mortal Kombat 1's current-generation versions have received helpful reviews, with Metacritic giving the Xbox Series X/S version 88 points and the PS5 version 86. The same cannot be said for the Nintendo Switch version, which received mostly negative feedback.
Nintendo Life gave the game a poor 4/10, using a number of problems: "There are frame rate problems, noticeable resolution drops, input and timing issues due to performance hiccups, missing content, game-breaking bugs in Invasion mode, lengthy loading times, and unresponsive menus." The review concluded with a strong advice that gamers avoid the Switch version if alternative platforms were available.
Despite the first fails, Mortal Kombat fans should find comfort in Ed Boon's commitment to improving the Nintendo Switch experience. As the gaming world waits for the expected update, it remains to be seen whether the faults that have affected the Switch version's launch will be properly fixed, offering the experience fans had hoped for.