After starring in the Nindies@Home promotion, RIVE’s release on Wii U was cast in uncertainty after Two Tribes lamented that the game couldn’t run at a consistent 60-frames-per-second on the console.
The developer has now confirmed that their metal-wrecking, robot-hacking shooter will instead see release on Nintendo Switch, with Engine Software having been enlisted to help make sure it can be played “in ultra-fast and super-challenging 60 FPS glory.”
“Yes, we said we wouldn’t develop any new games at Two Tribes. And yes, we still feel like dinosaurs in the games industry. But we’re not extinct yet. In fact, we’re bringing our best and last, twin-stick shooter/platformer RIVE, to Nintendo Switch this year!” Two Tribes shared in an update.
“The news comes after the admission in 2016 that our Nintendo strategy was in flux. Now, we can finally reveal what we’ve been up to: RIVE was bumped from Wii U to Nintendo Switch, where it’ll be playable in ultra-fast and super-challenging 60 FPS glory.
“We’re developing RIVE on Nintendo Switch together with Engine Software. Details about the game’s exclusive Nintendo Switch expansion, as well as a release date, will be announced later on.
“Two Tribes has always had a strong Nintendo tradition. Toki Tori on Game Boy Color was our debut, way back in 2001! Since then, many of our games have appeared on Nintendo platforms, including Toki Tori 2+ and RUSH. Lots of fans have let us know they’d like to play RIVE on a Nintendo system. So we can’t wait to finally bring RIVE to Nintendo Switch!
“RIVE is a great fit for Nintendo Switch. It was always intended as an explosive ode to the action games of the early nineties. Nostalgic, yet thoroughly modern. And we feel that Nintendo Switch, too, is all about bringing the experience from our youth, playing deep and skill-based games together, to the current day.
“RIVE (meaning ‘to tear apart violently’) is filled to the brim with references to our favorite games (sure hope you recognize the above!), with spectacular set-pieces, and humor, via the game’s main characters. Space scavenger Roughshot and robot butler DLL are both voiced by the talented Mark Dodson, of Star Wars and Gremlins fame.”
RIVE will release on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch in 2017.
