Will Norland Come to Console? Here's What We Know So Far
If you’re wondering whether Norland will be making its way to consoles, you’re not alone.
With its deep strategy mechanics, intricate family dynamics, and kingdom management gameplay, Norland seems like the kind of game that would fit well on consoles, especially with titles like Crusader Kings III proving that grand strategy can work on a controller.
But the big question is: Will Norland come to consoles?
I’ve been keeping a close eye on the game's development and, so far, the official word from developers Long Jaunt is that Norland is primarily focused on a PC release. Right now, the game is available in Steam Early Access, which launched on July 18, 2024.
While the Early Access period is all about gathering feedback and refining the gameplay, there hasn’t been a definitive announcement about console ports just yet.
But don’t give up hope! While the PC version is the main focus right now, there’s always a chance Norland could make the jump to consoles after the game’s full release, once the developers have ironed out the kinks.
Could Norland Work on Consoles?
Let’s talk about why people are even asking for a console version in the first place. If you’ve played games like Rimworld or Crusader Kings, you know that complex strategy games like these can work surprisingly well with the right control scheme. I think Norland could translate pretty well to consoles, especially with its focus on character interactions and family dynamics, rather than purely large-scale tactical battles.
In Norland, you spend a lot of time managing your noble family, building your kingdom, and handling complex relationships between characters. This means a lot of the game is menu-driven, which might be easier to navigate with a controller than you’d think.
Games like Civilization VI and Cities: Skylines have made the leap to consoles successfully by adapting their control schemes for controllers, so it’s not a huge leap to imagine Norland doing the same.
However, it’s not just about fitting the gameplay onto a controller. Console ports usually require a bit of optimization to ensure the game runs smoothly on different hardware, and with Norland still in its Early Access phase, the devs likely want to focus on getting the game stable on PC before looking at a console version.
Why It Might Take Time
One of the reasons Norland might take a while to arrive on consoles—if it does at all—is because of the focus on PC development for now. Early Access allows developers to tweak the game based on player feedback, fix bugs, and add new features as the community grows.
With complex systems like AI-controlled family dynamics, economic management, and military strategy all in play, there’s a lot for the devs to juggle. That means console players might have to wait until after the full PC release, which could be in 2025 or later, depending on how things progress.
Games like Stellaris and Surviving Mars didn’t make it to consoles until long after their initial PC releases. The extra development time allowed them to streamline certain features and optimize gameplay for console hardware.
It’s very possible that Norland could follow a similar path, with a console release happening only after the developers are confident that the core game mechanics are fully polished on PC.
The Success of Strategy Games on Consoles
There’s definitely a market for strategy games on consoles, and I think Norland could fit right in. In recent years, we’ve seen a surprising number of complex strategy games successfully make the leap to consoles.
Crusader Kings III, for example, is a title that shares many similarities with Norland—managing noble families, dealing with political intrigue, and expanding your empire. When CK3 came to consoles, it showed that with a thoughtful control scheme and some minor tweaks, even the most intricate of strategy games can work on Xbox or PlayStation.
Additionally, Frostpunk and Surviving Mars also made successful transitions to console, which proves there’s an appetite for more “thinking man’s” games on platforms that were once dominated by action and shooter titles. If these titles can carve out a space on consoles, Norland might very well find its way there too.
What’s the Hold-Up?
The biggest challenge is likely optimization. Games like Norland, which rely on a lot of background calculations—like character interactions, family tree dynamics, and economy balancing—can be taxing on hardware.
Before a console version can even be considered, the developers need to ensure the game runs smoothly on various systems, and then adapt it to work on console hardware without sacrificing performance or gameplay depth.
Since Norland is still in Early Access and changes are being made regularly, it’s possible that console optimization is a future goal, but not something they’re tackling right now.
Conclusion: Will Norland Come to Consoles?
As of now, there’s no official word on whether Norland will come to consoles, but there’s certainly hope that it could. Given the success of similar strategy games on Xbox and PlayStation, and the fact that Norland has the kind of depth and replayability that console players love, it wouldn’t be a shock if the developers considered a console port down the line.
However, for now, the focus remains on the PC version, which is in Steam Early Access as of July 2024. Console players may have to wait until after the full release—likely in 2025 or beyond—before hearing any news about ports.
But if you’re a fan of deep, medieval strategy games, keeping an eye on Norland’s development might just pay off.
In the meantime, if you have access to a PC, diving into the Early Access version might give you a taste of the rich strategy and family dynamics that make Norland such a compelling game.