Changes to the Nintendo Switch Publishing Service for Pixel Game Maker MV

Thank you for your support of Pixel Game Maker MV!
We have an important announcement regarding the Nintendo Switch Publishing service that Gotcha Gotcha Games has been offering.

Launched on May 15th, 2021, we’ve been able to release more than 50 different games on the Nintendo Switch as of November, 2024. We are very grateful to every developer who has participated, and it was one of the main attractions for developers using Pixel Game Maker MV.

For those interested, you can take a look at the list of games published via this service here:
https://rpgmakerofficial.com/act_game/?lang=en

However, it has been 7 years since Pixel Game Maker MV was released. There’s been a lot of changes in hardware, consumer expectations towards game development tools, and even the release of new console generations.
In order to rise to meet those changes, we’ve developed the much improved successor, ACTION GAME MAKER, which will be released in 2025.

We can confirm that ACTION GAME MAKER will support porting to most active consoles, including the Nintendo Switch.

Please read about console support for ACTION GAME MAKER here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2987180/view/4687773573366304993

Due to these various reasons, the Pixel Game Maker MV Nintendo Switch publishing service will be reduced as of April 1st, 2025. This will not impact any functions in Pixel Game Maker MV, and user support will continue with not change.

For developers wishing to publish their Pixel Game Maker MV but that have not applied for Nintendo Switch publishing access, you will need to apply by March 31, 2025. Additionally, games must pass through Nintendo’s approval process no later than March 31, 2026. Note that from initial contracting phase through completing Nintendo’s approval process takes at least 10 weeks, best effort. So please keep that in mind if you intend to apply.

Schedule of Changes

(1)While new applications will cease from this date, developers with pre-existing contracts will retain full access to Switch functionality until the 2026-3-31 date.
(2)Access to the Nintendo Switch development tools for Pixel Game Maker MV will cease to be provided from this date. Released titles will remain on sale.

Best Effort Timeline For Release

Step 8, Lot Check Approval, must be completed by 2026-03-31

As stated above, it takes an estimated 10 weeks to complete lot check approval best effort. Larger games or those with many issues found in the debug process will require more time, and this schedule assumes receiving approval on first lot check submission. Failing the initial lot check submission will add multiple weeks to the required time. Please keep this in mind when preparing your production plan.

Application Process

https://rpgmakerofficial.com/en/application/action_tkool/
Please use the above link if you wish to proceed with a Pixel Game Maker MV submission before the deadline approaches. However, if your game looks like it will not be ready before the deadline we suggest to our community that they consider moving their project to ACTION GAME MAKER upon its release.

Moving a Project to ACTION GAME MAKER

ACTION GAME MAKER uses the Godot Engine, which was not used in Pixel Game Maker MV. Due to this difference, a direct import function will not be provided.
That said, ACTION GAME MAKER supports the same Runtime Action system used by Pixel Game Maker MV, so recreating the logic should be a mostly simple process. However, due to the change in engine, there may be some unintended side effects, so please keep that in mind. Also, most resources (file types) are supported by ACTION GAME MAKER MV, though configuring settings after importing will be required.

Supported Resource Data

*Audio Files (Music/SFX)
*Sprite Sheets/Tile Maps/Backgrounds/Fonts/Image Files
File Conversion Required
*Video Files: Conversion to Ogg Theora is required before videos can be used.
Not Supported
*OPTPIX Sprite Studio sspj format and GIF animations are not supported. Use of Godot’s Animation Player will be required to recreate the motions.
*Particle Effects: Particle effects will need to be recreated using GPUParticles2D and CPUParticles2D, which are Godot Engine functions.

Additional information can be found on the ACTION GAME MAKER Steam page and in the Producer Letters we have released, so please check them out!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2987180/ACTION_GAME_MAKER/

We most sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this will cause on all Pixel Game Maker MV developers who were considering a Nintendo Switch release, and ask for your understanding.

Please contact us at
[email protected]
If you have any questions about the changes outlined above.