Games Porting
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/ Games Porting /
Ghostbusters
Spirits Unleashed Lands as an Ecto Edition on Switch with All DLC
8/10
score
on Switch
7.7/10
score
on Metacritic
86%
rating
on Steam
/ Testimonials /
The best Ghostbusters port? Gamers say it might be
The Switch Effect
4/5
The Switch port might be the best way to play [Spirits Unleashed].
MeriStation
7/10
Possibly the best version of the video game.
Nintendo Life
8/10
A spookily smooth Switch port
Reddit user
Really solid
Handheld has been really solid.
/ Project overview /
Pingle & IllFonic
About the game
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a 4v1 asymmetrical multiplayer game. Set in richly detailed, haunted locations, the game blends lighthearted ghostbusting with eerie hide-and-seek mechanics. Developed by IllFonic, it launched in 2022 on PC and consoles with full voice acting from the original cast and deep gear customization.
Client
IllFonic
Solution
Porting
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Platforms
Release
Nintendo Switch
October, 2023
Partnership timeline
2023
About Pingle & Private Division partnership
IllFonic brought in Pingle to port their UE4 title to Nintendo Switch. We had to preserve the game’s visual effects, ghost encounters, and immersive audio, while bundling all DLC into the game’s “Ecto Edition” and hitting stable performance targets on handheld hardware.
/ The Challenge /
Optimizing a haunting UE4 game + all DLC for a handheld
IllFonic needed the Switch version of Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed to match the original’s immersive feel — glowing particle effects, volumetric fog, and expressive morph-target facial animations included.
But packing all that into Nintendo’s handheld came with a technical compromise: hitting stable 30 FPS in action-heavy multiplayer, plus bundling every DLC drop without inflating load times or file size.
In short, nothing that Pingle couldn’t handle.
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/ Phase 1 /
Ghosts keep haunting – even at 30 FPS
To retain Ghostbusters’ signature atmosphere on Switch, we needed to deliver complex VFX and morph-target face animations without overloading the hardware. Our team tackled it head-on with targeted optimization:
1
Built custom LODs for skeletal meshes, including ghosts with animated expressions
2
Applied culling methods to skip rendering off-screen objects and effects
3
Tuned navigation systems for smoother character and ghost movement
4
Balanced CPU and GPU loads to lock in stable 30 FPS performance
/ Phase 2 /
Ecto Edition hits Switch without bloated load times
Switch players got every DLC — new maps, cosmetics, and gear — pre-installed. But bundling all that content without tanking performance or ballooning file size meant deep system optimization. So we:
1
Recompressed and trimmed animation files and logic
2
Optimized movement components and flying ghost AI
3
Reduced in-engine texture sizes without losing clarity
4
Tuned loading systems for faster boot and smoother level streaming
/ The results /
Fully optimized for Switch in under 6 months
Before
After
UE4 port impractical on Switch due to heavy VFX & animations
Switch version runs smoothly at consistent FPS with LOD systems
DLC needed separate downloads or wasn't fully integrated
Launch version bundles full Ecto Edition DLC content
Large file and load delays on Switch
Optimized build size with fast loading experience
/ The team /
Cast
- Team peak size: 10 specialists
- UE programmers
- Tech Artists
- 3D artists
- 3D riggers
- QA tester
/ Cases /
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