Hades II

Hades II keeps the trick that made the first game a standout for anyone splitting time between a desk and a handheld: your progress isn’t stuck on one machine. Link your Steam or Epic account on the Switch or Switch 2 version, and your run carries back and forth with your PC save. That part is confirmed and working. The platform list has grown since the original game, with PS5 and Xbox Series X|S joining in April 2026, and neither of those consoles gets a seat at the cross-save table.

Game overview

Hades II follows Melinoë, sister to the first game’s Zagreus, fighting a new set of Olympians and Titans in a story that runs parallel to rather than directly sequel to the original. The structural bones are the same: die, return to a hub with permanent upgrades intact, go again. Supergiant expanded the build system with a spellcasting layer alongside the melee-and-boon combat the first game established, and the run variety is deeper for it.

It launched into Early Access on 6 May 2025 on PC and, unusually for Supergiant, on Switch and Switch 2 at the same time: a timed console exclusive that held for eleven months before PS5 and Xbox followed. The 1.0 release landed 25 September 2025, still Switch/Switch 2 and PC only at that point.

Where you can play it

PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), Switch, and Switch 2 have had it since the September 2025 1.0 release. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S joined six months later, on 14 April 2026, both targeting 120fps with no separate graphics or performance mode to choose between. The console release ships with every patch that had already landed on PC and Switch/Switch 2, so PS5 and Xbox players aren’t starting on a stale build.

On Switch 2 specifically, the game targets 120fps docked and 60fps handheld. The original Switch holds 60fps in both modes. Steam Deck has held Verified status since Early Access: full controller support, legible UI at handheld scale, and performance testing has shown it running closer to 90fps on default settings for most of a session, well above the 60fps floor Valve’s Verified badge requires.

There’s no mobile version.

Cross-saves and keeping your progress

This is the section worth reading closely if you’re deciding where to play. Platform coverage last verified 19 July 2026. Supergiant can extend or drop cross-save on any platform without announcing it, so treat this as a snapshot, not a permanent guarantee, and check the in-game Cross-Saves menu on your own platforms before relying on it.

Switch, Switch 2, and PC (Steam or Epic) all share one save corridor. Open the Cross-Saves menu on the Switch or Switch 2 version, sign into your Steam or Epic account, and your meta-progression plus your current run state sync both directions. It’s the identical mechanism the first Hades used, and it still works because the account layer sits outside both Steam Cloud and Nintendo’s own cloud. Neither platform’s built-in save system needs to know about the other.

PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are not part of that bridge. Both consoles launched a full six months after the cross-save-capable trio, and Supergiant hasn’t extended the Cross-Saves menu to either one. If your portable setup is a Steam Deck and a Switch or Switch 2, you’re covered. If it’s a PS5 and anything else, your save stays on the PS5.

One practical note: cross-save reads on console aren’t instant. Budget 2-5 extra seconds to load a synced save on Switch or Switch 2, versus the near-instant pull you get on PC through Steam Cloud. Not a dealbreaker, worth knowing before you assume the console load screen has hung.

You need to own the game on every platform you want to bridge: linking accounts doesn’t hand you a free copy on a second platform, it only connects the saves once you’ve bought it twice.

Features that matter on the move

• PC-to-Switch-to-Switch 2 cross-save, unchanged from the first game’s mechanism, confirmed working across all three.
• Steam Deck Verified since Early Access, with real-world performance testing showing 90fps on default settings for most of a run.
• PS5 and Xbox are isolated saves. If either is your main platform, plan around a single-device save, same as the original Hades on those systems.
• Run-based structure suits short sessions. A death sends you back to the hub with upgrades intact; you can also save and exit mid-run.

Recommended setup

If cross-device play matters to you, the pairing to build around is Steam Deck (or any PC) plus a Switch or Switch 2, linked through the Cross-Saves menu before you start a save you care about. That’s the only combination that bridges. A PS5 or Xbox owner gets the same excellent game, minus the handheld handoff. Accept the single-platform save and enjoy Melinoë’s story on whichever system is already your main one.

The 8BitDo Pro 2 covers the melee-and-spellcasting control scheme well across PC and Steam Deck.

See our Hades page for how the original game’s cross-save compares, the cross-saves guide for the wider save-sync picture across 2025-26 releases, and the controllers guide for pad picks across every platform here.

Verdict

If your portable setup is a Steam Deck and a Switch or Switch 2, Hades II gives you the same rare, genuine cross-save the first game did: verified, working, and fast enough not to notice except for a few extra seconds on console load. If you’re coming to it fresh on PS5 or Xbox after the April 2026 expansion, you’re getting the same excellent sequel, minus the desk-to-sofa handoff the Nintendo/PC trio shares. Know which camp you’re in before you build a save you don’t want to restart.