Former Cyanogen CEO Claims Nintendo Approached Them for Switch OS

This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s tech or a story you want us to cover!

The somewhat infamous former CEO of Cyanogen, Kirt McMaster, is claiming on twitter that Nintendo approached the tech company to create a Switch OS based off CyanogenMod, the company’s discontinued fork of the Android OS.


However, this never went anywhere, as McMaster said:

In the early days of cyanogen Nintendo wanted us to create an os for a certain handheld. I told them to stick it.

When it was being actively developed, CyangenMod was one of the most popular custom ROMs for Android. However, this was because of its freedom and user customizability, something Nintendo isn’t entirely enthused about. The Tegra X1 used in the Switch was also originally made for Android devices such as the Pixel C and the Shield Android TV, so it would make sense that Nintendo would want to use the same OS as before.

Nowadays, it seems as if Kirt is regretting his decision, as he himself is saying he and his girlfriend love the Switch, and have been playing Zelda non-stop since release.

The Nintendo Switch is available now for 299$.


About

Owner and Publisher at Niche Gamer and Nicchiban. Outlaw fighting for a better game industry.


Where'd our comments go? Subscribe to become a member to get commenting access and true free speech!