While the Nintendo Switch 2 won't be as powerful as the current generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft, the upcoming system will support every Unreal Engine 5 feature, possibly even the recently revealed MegaLights, although with some caveats.
Speaking during the latest episode of their weekly podcast, the tech experts at Digital Foundry replied to a fan question asking if the next Nintendo console will support the latest UE5 features, saying that features like Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadows Maps will surely be supported by virtue of the architecture of the system alone. Even MegaLights could be supported, as all that matters are the performance targets. In addition, there could be some Nintendo Switch 2-specific versions of all these technologies that will allow them to run decently on the system with some obvious trade-offs, and if they are not too memory intensive. Even hardware Lumen could run on the system with the proper tweaks.
Given how much third-party support the original Switch received, something that was made possible by the system supporting the Unreal Engine, and that most of these developers are moving onto the new version of the engine, there's no doubt that the Nintendo Switch 2 will support the vast majority of the Unreal Engine 5 features. Not every game will scale well, and some will have some compromises, but looking at what has been accomplished on its predecessor, there's no doubt that we will see some impressive showcases for a mobile platform on it.
Digital Foundry also commented on how the Nintendo Switch 2 handheld mode performance differences with the Steam Deck could impact the platform. According to the tech experts, there won't be much of an impact, as the two platforms offer substantially different experiences. The Steam Deck is a little clunkier to use and, most of all, lacks the Nintendo games that drive the sales of its platforms. On the other hand, developers aren't targeting the Steam Deck specifically, while Nintendo Switch 2 games will be optimized to run on the system and take advantage of its feature set, which is said to include the NVIDIA DLSS upscaler. The only scenario where a difference in performance could matter is in a drought situation where multiplatform games fill in the gap left by the lack of first-party releases
The Nintendo Switch 2 has yet to be officially revealed. We will keep you updated on the system as soon as possible, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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