Android software company Cyanogen reportedly shot down working on a Nintendo OS

Nintendo’s latest console, the hybrid home/handheld Switch, runs a custom operating-system, but it could’ve had a lot more in common with Android, according to a key figure from that scene.

Cyanogen Inc. executive chairman Kirt McMaster claimed in a now-deleted tweet that Nintendo approached his company to create an operating system for a “certain portable.” McMaster said he turned down that offer. While Cyanogen is now a major Android software company, it started as the go-to team for custom operating systems for anyone who wanted to speed up their early Android devices. CyanogenMod, which would typically take the base version of Android and power it up with custom kernels and other tweaks, ended up on a significant portion of rooted smartphones running Google’s mobile OS.