The first football game for Nintendo Switch 2? "We've ordered devkits"

It's not PES/eFootball, nor FIFA/EAFC, neither Mario Strikers. This is the first studio aiming at the new console for their take on the beautiful game.

Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is around the corner we recently listed the original Switch line-up's 11 inexplicable absences, games that we couldn't fathom hadn't been adapted to the hugely successful platform in all these years. Among them was Konami's PES or eFootball, as the Japanese developer didn't foresee the potential profit they could make out of the handheld/console hybrid. Electronic Arts did prominently, on the other hand, with the annual FIFA and EA FC, despite the little update to each entry. However, while neither of the two have declared love to the imminent Switch's successor, there's a game, and a studio, that are already looking into bringing their experience to the Switch 2.

We're talking about UFL by Strikerz Inc. While the team is not announcing anything official yet (same as pretty much any other third party so far), they do hint at a potential adaptation of their free-to-play game, one that is currently available on PS5 and Xbox Series and that will soon land on PC as well.

"Talking of Switch 2, we have already ordered, requested developer toolkits", the publishing director tells Gamereactor when talking about UFL and platforms. "And, as far as you understand, that was done for a reason. I mean Switch 2 devkits", he further adds in the video below.

While, again, this doesn't mean we'll definitely see UFL on the Nintendo eShop anytime soon, it at least confirms that the developers over at Strikerz Inc. are already exploring the possibility, even before the console's TBA release date.

Considering the drought of realistic football games Nintendo fans endured for three (!) generations (with the exception of the strategically interesting Pro Evolution Soccer for the Wii), and with Next Level Games' Mario Strikers normally slated as a wave 2/3 title for Nintendo, the prospect of being able to try out UFL anytime during the early life cycle of the console sounds like good news for those fans, especially since free-to-play games help fill the gaps between major premium releases as the library fills out. Will Konami see the same opportunity with their own F2P offering around the launch window? We're just days away from finding out...