Paladins: Champions of the Realm, a free-to-play hero shooter from Hi-Rez Studios, is no longer available for Nintendo Switch. Paladins: Champions of the Realm is very similar to Blizzard’s Overwatch, launching into early access a few months after the Blizzard game and enjoying a full release a few years later, its first release on the Nintendo Switch.
While Paladins: Champions of the Realm started out as an Overwatch-style hero shooter, the game has since become known for its battle royale mode. Realm Royale is now a standalone product, but it originated as a new game mode in Paladins. Realm Royale, now known as Realm Royale Reforged, is still available for Nintendo Switch gamers to download and play, but not Paladins.
According to ComicBook.com, the Nintendo Switch version of Paladins officially shut down on June 15. The game was removed from the store in April, so it’s unclear how many people were even playing Paladins on Switch when that version of the game was archived. The bright side is that Paladins are still readily available on other platforms, so fans of the Switch version of the game can at least play it elsewhere if they so choose.
When the closure of the Paladins Nintendo Switch was announced, Hi-Rez explained why it was a necessary move. The Nintendo Switch version of Paladins is lacking compared to their counterparts on other consoles, and the company has worked hard to support them properly. Leaving the Nintendo Switch version behind will allow Hi-Rez to devote its resources to more active versions of the game on other consoles.
Paladins: Champions of the Realm isn’t the only Nintendo Switch game Hi-Rez has shut down this month. Free-to-play shooter Rogue Company is no longer available for download on the Nintendo Switch, and as of June 20, it will be completely unplayable on Nintendo’s handheld/home console hybrid. The Nintendo Switch version of Rogue Company shut down for essentially the same reasons as Paladins.
Nintendo fans who played the games will no doubt be disappointed by the closure, but perhaps hope is on the horizon. With rumors that Nintendo is preparing a successor to its Switch console, perhaps the device will justify Hi-Rez bringing its free-to-play titles back to the Nintendo platform. Nothing has actually been announced about it, though, so fans should of course keep their expectations in check.