Nintendo Switch 2 Likely to Use DLSS, Struggles with 4K

While many games will target 4K in docked mode or 1080p in handheld mode, the Nintendo Switch 2 likely won’t have the power to reach that for all the most demanding games, but will instead rely on NVIDIA DLSS.

Nintendo Switch 2 Likely to Use NVIDIA DLSS, But Struggles with 4K/1080p Resolution Expected

The tech experts from Digital Foundry shared some details in their recent podcast regarding what we read Nintendo Switch 2 capable. As the system will probably run on a mobile chip and won’t compete with current-gen consoles in terms of power, NVIDIA DLSS can use some upscaling of lower resolutions to get better graphics out of the console. That being said, the performance and cost of having DLSS means the more demanding titles may not be aimed at the highest resolutions.

In handheld mode, users can expect to see resolution outputs of 720p or 900p, as higher resolutions would require a more expensive upscaler. For ports of games originally designed for PS4 or Xbox One, the resolution in handheld mode is expected to be around 900p or 1080p, while in docked mode, 1440p could be the target. But for current-gen games that are more demanding, it’s probably going to mean that 3rd-party titles won’t be able to do much in the way of high res graphics at least in docked mode, as developers might have to focus on graphics/performance settings over simply making the game run very high res.

First-party Nintendo games might run better because the company can optimize for the Switch 2. Plus, these games could aim for a higher resolution with relatively little in the way of in-game detail, fitting in with Nintendo’s strategy of low-cost development. Moreover, the games built using Unreal Engine 5 will need to be well-calibrated in terms of their resolution and set visuals. Unreal Engine 5’s visual effects — for example, Lumen, which is responsible for dynamic lighting and shadows — may not look good at lower resolutions, so developers will have to scale back internal resolution or graphics quality.

If NVIDIA can make a more lightweight variant of DLSS specifically for the Switch 2 hardware, much like what AMD did with No Man’s Sky on the Switch with a lightweight version of FSR 2, that would also be a big performance boost. Although nothing has been revealed for the specific Nintendo Switch 2, information regarding potential features and capabilities is closer to clarity and more details can be expected in short order.

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