Highlights

  • LEGO Horizon Adventures brings a lighthearted and humorous take on the Horizon universe, with co-op gameplay support and a unique LEGO twist.
  • The game's surprise release on Nintendo Switch is a welcome event, but hardware differences may affect performance compared to PlayStation and PC.
  • While Switch players celebrate the arrival of LEGO Horizon Adventures, don't expect more PlayStation exclusives to follow suit on the platform.

After weeks of rumors swirling around the title's existence, LEGO Horizon Adventures got an official reveal as part of Summer Game Fest 2024, and the title is already shaping up to be one of the more anticipated LEGO games in years thanks to its lighthearted and humorous take on the post-apocalyptic wasteland from Sony and Guerrilla Games' Horizon series. One of the more surprising parts of the official announcement of the game was that it's arriving later this year not just on PlayStation consoles, but also as a day 1 release on PC and Nintendo Switch. While PC players are no strangers to receiving Sony first-party titles on the platform, LEGO Horizon Adventures' release on the Switch is much more unexpected.

Microsoft Gaming CEO and industry figurehead Phil Spencer famously vocalized a desire to bring Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch all the way back in 2020, but those plans never materialized for a variety of reasons. Nintendo is historically incredibly protective of its first-party IP, so it makes sense that the company's hardware wouldn't blur those lines by having other hardware manufacturers' first-party titles on the Switch. LEGO Horizon Adventures' arrival on the system is a welcome surprise, but the lack of hardware parity between Nintendo and Sony hardware means it might be a one-and-done event.

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LEGO Horizon Adventures is a Clear Omen for the Age of Exclusive Games

Horizon is getting the LEGO treatment, and it will release on Nintendo Switch, representing a shift in Sony's philosophy regarding exclusives.

LEGO Horizon Adventures' Arrival on the Switch Makes Sense in the Context of LEGO Games

While it's certainly unexpected for a first-party Sony game to arrive on the Nintendo Switch, it makes perfect sense for Nintendo's hardware to get yet another game in the long line of LEGO titles based on popular IP. There are currently more than 15 LEGO games available on the Nintendo Switch, including the massive LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, whose Switch version is impressive even when stacked up next to the PS5 and Xbox Series releases. Regardless of its use of a Sony first-party franchise, LEGO Horizon Adventures' place as a game within the LEGO brand makes its release on the Switch a foregone conclusion.

What remains to be seen is how the Switch will actually fare when trying to render the LEGO versions of the Horizon series' sprawling open-world wasteland or its many mechanical monstrosities. Even though it makes sense for the latest game to use the LEGO brand to launch on the hardware, there's every reason to believe that the Switch version won't feature the same kind of performance or graphical fidelity as the PlayStation 5 or PC releases of the title. As such, LEGO Horizon Adventures might represent the one scenario where a PlayStation exclusive arriving on Switch is even possible.

Regardless of the Switch 2's Specs, Fans Shouldn't Hold Their Breath for More PS Exclusives

In all likelihood, LEGO Horizon Adventures won't be nearly as taxing on the Switch's hardware as the mainline Horizon games, or any other PlayStation-exclusive title for that matter. In that sense, the title's arrival on Switch is less surprising, but also telling in terms of where Nintendo's hybrid console sits in its life cycle. It's no secret that Nintendo is planning to announce the Switch's successor at some point in the near future, with sources indicating that players should expect a 2025 release date. What they shouldn't expect, though, is more PlayStation first-party exclusives coming to Nintendo hardware.

While industry patterns signal a changing of the guard in terms of console exclusives and companies' diverging strategies for hardware and software, Nintendo hardware has a track record of favoring accessibility and ease of use over pure technical prowess and horsepower. LEGO Horizon Adventures' first-party connections aside, Switch players planning on upgrading to the next iteration of the hardware shouldn't expect the likes of Spider-Man 2 or God of War: Ragnarok to ever land on the Switch 2. For the time being, Switch players and LEGO fans have cause to celebrate LEGO Horizon Adventures' plans to come to the platform, but it's by no means an indication of other games following suit.