Frostpunk arrives on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, with a Complete Edition and three expansions

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Numbers first: eight years after its PC debut, Frostpunk arrived on Nintendo Switch on October 19, with full Nintendo Switch 2 support. Warsaw-based 11 bit studios released it in two versions: the base game and the Complete Edition, which includes all three expansions, The Rifts, The Last Autumn and On The Edge.

What Frostpunk is

Released on PC in April 2018, Frostpunk is a survival city builder set in an alternate 19th century frozen by an endless winter. You run New London, the last city built around a coal generator, and have to keep its people warm, fed and at least slightly hopeful.

In practice, that means signing laws on working hours, healthcare and food, researching technology so nobody freezes, and sending expeditions into the Frostlands for supplies and survivors. Every decision has a cost: your people’s trust is not unlimited, and the game sends the bill. Beyond the campaigns there is the open-ended Endless mode and Serenity mode, for players who just want to build without pressure.

The Complete Edition expansions

The Rifts adds an Endless mode map split by ice rifts that need bridges. The Last Autumn is a prequel in which you build the generator before the great frost. On The Edge takes place at an outpost that depends on deals with New London to survive.

Price

11 bit announced launch discounts of 30% on the base game and 35% on the Complete Edition. On PC, the game remains available on Steam.

Translated from the jargon: if a Nintendo console is all you own, you can now play one of the most acclaimed city builders of the last decade, handheld mode included. The sequel, Frostpunk 2, launched on PC in September 2024 and is not part of this release.