Multiple leaks from credible sources in recent months have claimed that the Nintendo Switch 2, which will allegedly be following in the footsteps of its predecessor and use an Nvidia GPU, will launch with support for DLSS 3.5 (among other things), which would allow the console to output games at upscaled 4K resolutions, though it’s not been claimed that its upscaling might not be quite so powerful.
Speaking recently during the DF Direct podcast (via VGC), Digital Foundry founder Richard Leadbetter said that according to his sources, though the next Nintendo console will feature DLSS, it won’t include Deep Learning Accelerator (or DLA). DLA is a separate architecture that works in conjunction with DLSS to free up processing power and allow games to be upscaled to higher resolutions.
According to Leadbetter’s sources, the T239 – which is allegedly the custom Nvidia GPU being used for the Switch 2 – won’t include DLA, which, according to him, “would limit the viability of DLSS quite significantly.” As per Leadbetter, that could potentially mean that the Switch 2’s upscaling is limited to 1080p, or 1440p “if you’re lucky, depending on the game.”
Interestingly, previous leaks have claimed that one of two tech demos for the Switch 2 showcased by Nintendo to select developers at Gamescom was “souped up” version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at 4K and 60 FPS, so there’s certainly so contradicting information floating out there- as is often the case with Nintendo.
The Switch 2 is rumoured to launch sometime during the second half of 2024, and if that is indeed the timeline Nintendo plans to stick to, it shouldn’t be too long before we get official details on the console. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks and months.