Switch Gets Surprise Free-To-Play FPS Release

If you're looking for a realistic free-to-play shooter to take on the go on your Switch, your search might soon be over: the multiplayer FPS Warface is coming to Nintendo's console very soon. First released in 2013 by Crytek Kiev, Warface first made its way to the PS4 and Xbox One in late 2018, where it amassed 13 million players over the course of a year.

With its mix of PvP deathmatches and PvE raids, Warface is structured similarly to shooters like Destiny, but its "boots-on-the-ground" gunplay invites frequent comparisons to Call of Duty. In 2019, the team behind the game left Crytek Kiev to form their own studio, Blackwood Games, which works in tandem with publisher My.Games to maintain the free-to-play shooter.

Despite its popularity, Warface has garnered a muted reception from its playerbase over the years--it currently sits at a "Mixed" reception on Steam, with over 50,000 reviews counted. Many of them accuse the game of being "pay-to-win." In our 2013 review, Nathan Meunier called Warface a slick shooter ultimately crippled by its unoriginality.

"Considering Warface is a sharp-looking game that you can play for free in your Web browser, you might be inclined to overlook some of its minor faults," he wrote. "The collaborative dynamic of co-op missions is the real draw, but the generic presentation and uninspired competitive combat don't take enough risks to push beyond what you've see done before."