[UPDATE] As suggested earlier by Nintendo, NVIDIA has now shared more information on the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware in a brief blog post. Granted, the details are still relatively scarce. However, here's a basic overview:
- 1,000 engineer years of effort across every element (from system and chip design to a custom GPU, APIs, and world-class development tools)
- RT Cores that support real-time ray tracing for lighting, reflections, and shadows
- Tensor Cores that support NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)
- Tensor Cores also enable AI-powered face tracking and background removal during video chat
- NVIDIA G-SYNC powered VRR in handheld mode
- 10x the graphics performance of the Nintendo Switch
- Improved tools and optimized APIs for faster, more efficient game creation.
[ORIGINAL STORY] Rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware supporting NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and ray tracing features have been circulating since 2023, based on the assumption that the underlying chipset would be the NVIDIA Tegra 239 SoC.
Yesterday, though, Nintendo did not mention these features at all during the Direct or in the subsequent article posted on the official website. After the showcase, the folks at Digital Foundry went through the released footage of Nintendo Switch 2 games and said there was no indication of NVIDIA DLSS being featured in those games, casting further doubts on what seemed like a certainty.
Now, IGN has got Nintendo on the record about the subject. Takuhiro Dohta, senior director at Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development Division and one of three people seen in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, revealed:
We use DLSS upscaling technology and that's something that we need to use as we develop games. And when it comes to the hardware, it is able to output to a TV at a max of 4K. Whether the software developer is going to use that as a native resolution or get it to upscale is something that the software developer can choose. I think it opens up a lot of options for the software developer to choose from.
Yes, the GPU does support ray tracing. As with DLSS, I believe this provides yet another option for the software developers to use and a tool for them.
When IGN tried to obtain further details about the GPU included in the Nintendo Switch 2, Tetsuya Sasaki, General Manager at Nintendo's Technology Development Division and Senior Director at its Technology Development Department, replied that Nintendo does not like to discuss the finer technical details. However, Sasaki-san added that NVIDIA should share more information at some point in the future.
Based on previously rumored information, the Nintendo Switch 2 GPU should be powered by NVIDIA's Ampere architecture and feature 2048 CUDA Cores, while its 8-core CPU should include 12x ARM Cortex-A78AE cores. Earlier this year, a leak suggested that the Switch 2 is capable of 1.71 TFLOPS in handheld mode with a GPU clocked at 561 MHz, while the docked mode (which, as Nintendo has confirmed, is boosted by a fan this time around) can go up to 3.1 TFLOPS thanks to the higher GPU speed of 1000 MHz.
We'll find out if these leaks were correct soon enough.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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