Earlier this year, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa informed fans that the Switch successor was slated to finally be unveiled within this fiscal year, which spans through March 31, 2025. In a separate post, Furukawa then revealed backwards compatibility as one of the Switch successor’s features, which is something that has been highly anticipated by fans.
That’s about the full extent of what we officially know about the “Nintendo Switch 2” (as dubbed by fans). However, rumors and supposed leaks have told us a lot more about the mysterious console. One of the major implications of these rumors suggests that the Nintendo Switch 2 will utilize NVIDIA’s DLSS technology.
DLSS, the abbreviation for deep learning super sampling, utilizes artificial intelligence to improve images, upscaling, and frame rates. What makes DLSS so impressive is that it’s specifically designed to allow cheaper hardware to perform beyond its normal parameters.
Evidence suggests that the Switch 2 is being manufactured with the T239 processor chip installed. The T239 is said to be a variant of the T234 chip made specifically for Nintendo, though with the removal of features that would be redundant for a gaming console.
With these specs in mind, the Nintendo Switch 2 was supposedly capable of playing an improved version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and showcasing The Matrix Awakens during a private viewing at Gamescom 2023. Overall, it sounds like the Nintendo Switch 2 will offer vast improvements over the previous hybrid console.
The tech experts at Digital Foundry were recently asked if they thought that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be capable of consistently outputting 720p or 900p for third party games with DLSS enabled while the console is in handheld mode.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’re going to be seeing quite a lot of DLSS in the Switch 2 simply by virtue of the fact that it’s a mobile chipset,” responded Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry.
“Yeah, I think we will be seeing a lot of DLSS [on the Switch 2], but I also think we’ll be seeing a lot of DLSS that does not go to the native 1080p resolution of that handheld screen, and probably not especially the native 4K resolution that this thing will be targeting when connected to 4K televisions,” chimed in Oliver Mackenzie.
While it would be reasonable to assume that the Switch 2 with its DLSS functionality will be able to target 720p and 900p, it’s noted that DLSS tasks can become too strenuous with 1080p and 4K resolution. Having said that, Mackenzie speculates that the Nintendo Switch 2 could be capable of utilizing DLSS at 1080p for ports that were originally designed within the PlayStation 4 era. With these variables, maybe 1440p could also be possible with dock mode.
Still, the team believes that Nintendo themselves will optimize specifically for the Switch 2’s handheld mode for first party games. Nintendo has a tendency to create games that are less demanding compared to Microsoft or Sony software.
Recent rumors suggest that Nintendo could be targeting June or July 2025 for the new console’s launch window. Considering the plans to reveal the console in early 2025, this timeline does seem probable.
Playtonic Games has heavily implied that Yooka-Replaylee is slated for the Switch 2. Despite specifically naming the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series, and PC as platforms for Yooka-Replaylee, the developers playfully teased that it was also coming to the “Nintendo,” without any specifics beyond that.
Additionally, Masahiro Sakurai told fans that he’d been working on a secret game project since April 2022. It’s speculated that the reason why it hasn’t been revealed yet is because it’s intended specifically for the unannounced Switch 2.
Plenty of evidence does suggest that the Switch 2 will perform well as a direct upgrade over the Switch, but the new console will still likely be somewhat outpaced by other current generation consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Regardless, DLSS will certainly help Nintendo close the gap, especially with their first party titles that will be specifically optimized for handheld mode.
The future for Nintendo fans is looking pretty exciting. Of course, we’re still playing the waiting game in terms of official information from Nintendo themselves.