Warframe's Switch Version Allows Data Transfer From PC, But With Limitations

(Image credit: Digital Extremes)

Nintendo Switch owners have been given an opportunity to take part in one of the best games currently available this generation. Warframe has a massive following and is one of the few games that has been evolving like no other game on the market, and Switch owners even have the option to port over their data from PC... but with limitations.

Polygon is reporting that there is an option to migrate your PC account over to the Nintendo Switch. Whether you started out slow and worked your way up, but never quite finished anything on PC, or you're a high-level space ninja with all the latest and greatest equipment, there's an option to migrate some of that progress over to Nintendo's little hybrid console. However, the migration process is a one-time thing, and you can only move your content from PC to Switch, not the other way around.

This means that if you have a Warframe account and you move over all your content right now, but then decide to make more progress on the PC side and then transfer over some rare stuff, you won't be able to. There's a limit of only being able to move your data over once, and whatever progress you make on the Switch side can't move back to your PC account. So whatever progress you make on the Switch will stay exclusive to your account on the Switch.

But why is the data transfer process just a one-time deal and why can't Switch owners move data back to PC? What's the big deal?

Well, Polygon reached out to Digital Extremes to find out what the big deal was, and the representative explained that it's all to due with the technical synchronization that creates the limitations of moving data back and forth between different platform versions of Warframe, or rather, the lack of sync between the PC and console versions of the game. The Digital Extremes representative explained:

Thus, the PC and console build versions are out of sync by about a month or so. Any migration attempt would require putting the account through a kind of update/de-update converter to amend and sync. This can lead to a lot of issues including potential loss of in-game items due to being from a later patch, data corruption, loss of player data, the inability to play until previous builds are reached, etc. In short, lots of headaches.

So what if you already started an account on Warframe, but then you remembered that you had an account on PC and want to move it over? Well, you can. However, keep in mind that any account migration will permanently overwrite any existing data on your Switch account through the Nintendo Network. So any platinum you've purchased from the cash shop, any items you've acquired, or any Warframes or weapons you've crafted on the Switch version will be overwritten if you decide to port over your PC account.

Now what about items you may have acquired from the latest update on PC that aren't available on Switch? Well, according to the list, those items will be withheld on your account until the Switch version is updated to include those items as well. Also, your friends list will not carryover.

Warframe will not and does not support cross-platform compatibility due to the syncing issues, which is caused by the slower console certification process. On the upside, your PC account will not be affected at all in the migration process.