Starbreeze, the developers behind Payday 2, has confirmed that there will be future updates to the Nintendo Switch version of Payday 2, and that Payday 2 will receive future content on Switch. There has been a lot of controversy over this, with multiple threads on the Nintendo Switch subreddit telling people not to purchase the game because it is, in fact, an older version of the title, and not the newer one that fans expected. It’s an example of a botched port for the Nintendo Switch.
Starbreeze contacted Polygon and they had the following response:
“Payday 2 is releasing on Switch with content up to and including the ‘Most Wanted’ update, which is equivalent to the content released through mid-2017 on PC. PS4 and Xbox One received one additional update after that, the ‘Master Plan’ update, which released near the end of 2017,” Starbreeze told Polygon. “So Switch is one update behind other consoles, which are slightly behind PC.”
“The reasoning for the Switch content: we’re making continuous updates to a game that’s turning 5 years old this year, and to get the game out in early 2018 on Switch meant that our team had to go with the content ported and available at the time of console submission,” Starbreeze explained to Polygon. “The PS4 and Xbox One versions are now almost up to par with PC content, and Switch is close behind those versions. There are future content updates planned for Switch, as well.”
This is a side effect of the online era. A game can come out sub-par, but then continuous updates can make them great. The first Splatoon showed us that (not that it was bad at launch). Nintendo made continuous updates to it and it ended up being one of the best games for the Wii U.
It’s unfortunate, but at least the developer acknowledges this fact and is working to fix the game’s shortcomings.