Summary
Nintendo has recently filed a patent for theSwitch 2that mentions support for Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling, confirming an important feature that was mentioned in previous reports about the upcoming console. TheNintendo Switchis reaching the end of its lifespan, with fans anticipating the day that the Japanese company announces its successor in 2025. While the Switch 2 console has been rumored for a long time, Nintendo confirmed it would make an announcement in 2025 about the console, though concrete details about it have been kept quiet.
Rumors and speculation have surrounded the Nintendo Switch’s successor console ever since its initial announcement, resulting in a lot of information being thrown around that it is difficult to determine whether is accurate or a fabrication. One of the more consistent rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 is its supposed support for AI upscaling, specifically mentioning Nvidia’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which would allow the hardware to run its games at a higher resolution. Supposedly,the Nintendo Switch 2 demo at Gamescomfeatured this in action, where it was able to run the Unreal Engine tech demo ofThe Matrix Awakens. Thanks to Nvidia’s upscaling, the graphics were apparently on par with the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Anew patent filed by Nintendoclaims that the Switch 2 will use DLSS-style upscaling. According to a post made by Laura Kate Dale on BlueSky, the patent lists an example in which the system can be used to “reduce overall game sizes” to fit them onto “smaller capacity physical media,” such asNintendo Switch cartridges. She adds that games that have native 4K textures might require a 60 GB download, but a 1080 native version might only need 20 GB, making it able to fit on a Switch cartridge, which has a max of 32 GB. As such, the game can be 4K upscaled using the hardware in real-time.
The Switch 2’s Upscaling Could Benefit Third-Party Games
Dale speculates further onthe Switch 2’s potential usage of DLSS, saying that her understanding of the patent is that it will create a system that will make it easier to port third-party games onto the console. She predicts that if developers are making 4K versions of their games, then screenshots from that can be used to help the Switch 2 learn and improve the quality of the graphics when it gets ported to the system with lower quality resolution.
Leaks of the Switch 2 console itselfwere prevalent throughout December 2024, including photos of what the system apparently looks like. While there were a lot of accusations about it being AI-generated, a deep dive supposedly confirmed that many details were correct. Fans will still need to wait until later this year for Nintendo to make an official announcement about the Switch’s successor.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.
