Persistent's PopcornFX Supports Switch 2
With support for the Switch 2, Persistent Studios is reinforcing its ambition to position its PopcornFX visual effects middleware as a broadly applicable solution across multiple platforms and engines. So far, however, the middleware has been used more frequently in games not typically associated with the Switch.
In any case, with the addition of Switch 2 support, the basic requirement is now in place for PopcornFX’s real-time visual effects middleware to be optimally used in productions for Nintendo’s upcoming console. PopcornFX already supports numerous other consoles and handhelds, as well as PCs, mobile devices, VR, and AR platforms. Plugins are available for Unreal, Unity, After Effects, and Lumberyard, among others.
However, a look at PopcornFX’s reference list reveals fewer classic Switch-style games. Titles from the WWE franchise are mentioned by name, as well as Age of Mythology Retold and, notably, various racing game IPs such as Forza Horizon, WRC, and iRacing, which is particularly popular in sim racing. PopcornFX was also used in the development of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Persistent Studios, the company behind the middleware, is particularly strong in the field of VR and AR. The group consists of three subsidiaries, with PopcornFX being one of them. Persistent Studios also operates the 3D interactive agency Apperture, with offices in Paris, Bordeaux, and Montreal, as well as Digital & Human, a developer of 3D-based VR/AR/MR applications for large-scale companies and public organizations.