Hyper- and hybridcasual game-maker Homa now has six of its games live on Nintendo Switch with more incoming, says cofounder Olivier Le Bas.
Starting with FarmLand in late September, Homa has since released Aquarium Land, Merge Master, Zombie Raft, Zombie Escape and Zombie Defense on Switch. Aquarium Land is also on PlayStation and Xbox.
Working with porting partner QubicGames, Le Bas says Homa adjusted these games’ UI and GUI, controls, performance, stability and resolution to cover all the different technical requirements for the new platforms.
The Switch games have shown “promising results” so far, he says, though adapting them has been “challenging”.
Le Bas also acknowledges that it’ll take more time for PC and console players to adapt to mobile play patterns and business models. “Consumer expectations on PC and console platforms differ, with many players preferring games without microtransactions, often associating free to play with lower quality or intrusive monetisation,” he tells us.
“However, recent trends show a shift. Games like Fortnite and Apex Legends demonstrate that free to play can succeed on these platforms by offering high-quality experiences with fair monetisation strategies.”
Developers porting titles to consoles like the Switch must be careful to rebalance the game’s economy, avoid ‘pay to win’ models and be aware of higher development costs too, says Le Bas.
“While the PC and console sectors are gradually embracing F2P models, their full potential has yet to be fully exploited,” he continues.
“Mainly due to historical practices, market dynamics, consumer expectations, and the inherent challenges in adopting this model in a traditional one-time purchase market. However, the growing acceptance and success of specific free to play titles indicate a potential shift in this trend.”
Le Bas adds that this initial batch of Switch games is just the start for Homa’s cross-platform ambitions. “Barriers between mobile, PC, and console gaming are increasingly diminishing,” he continues.
“This is driven by several factors like game engine technological advancements allowing easier and a more qualitative cross-platform distribution, rise of Generative AI accelerating game porting, and changing consumer habits favouring flexibility and accessibility.”
Homa has added new features to its mobile games during the porting process, and has tweaked monetisation, too.
“We’ve adopted a premium approach for console versions. This model allows players to make a one-time purchase for the full game experience, free from the interruption of ads or the necessity for additional purchases.”
Homa is now evaluating all of its mobile games for release on Switch, but will only port them if it sees “alignment with audience and platform preferences”.
“We’re constantly assessing which games are next in line for this distribution strategy, and more exciting titles are on the horizon,” says Le Bas. “Our philosophy is to curate games that naturally align with the platform’s built-in strengths and audience expectations rather than force-fitting titles that may not translate well across different systems.”
“We usually look at games with high engagement and retention metrics as our prime candidates for porting,” he adds. “We’re cautious about porting over titles that are too reliant on touch-screen controls or are overly simplistic, as they may convert poorly to a console audience.”
