There’s an interesting new rumor about the Nintendo Switch 2, by way of its dev kits.
As reported by Insider Gaming, editor Tom Henderson spoke to developers who have the kits, and they told him that the Switch 2 dev kits do not have 4K support. While this does not entirely rule out the possibility that the Switch 2 can output in 4K, it does mean that these developers did not get tools or support to make their games output in 4K.
Rumors that the Switch 2 would have 4K support in some capacity have been going on for a while. In 2023, the rumor emerged that a Switch 2 dev kit, or a demo kit Nintendo used to present the hardware to industry peers, could output The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at 4K, and with no load times.
It’s easy to see why this rumor caught on. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is literally the Nintendo Switch’s first system seller, and one of those video games that has become so popular that its mimetic even outside the world of gamers. And even as miHoYo has grown further, no one can discount the game’s influence on their breakthrough title, Genshin Impact.
With that said, we could also plainly see that it would not be particularly difficult for Nintendo to upscale a game that was on the Switch to 4K on the Switch 2. So even if this rumor is true, it doesn’t say anything about the console’s ability to run newer games that can run on 4K.
Last November, a separate rumor emerged from datamining Nintendo’s Switch Online Playtest. This supposedly had data suggesting that the Switch 2 could output to 4K. But also, the Switch 2’s hardware was capable of using Remedy’s highly advanced mesh shaders, as seen in Alan Wake 2.
While there is more reason to believe that dataminers found real data, we can see that they could misinterpret some information. With the power of hindsight, we learned that a Nintendo patent for a small device that some dataminers thought was some kind of motion control device, was actually Alarmo.
Speaking of patents, the last thing we believe is contextually relevant to this are the patents Nintendo filed in relation to upscaling. Digital Foundry said they were ‘shocked’ with all the different kinds of upscaling the patent described.
Recently, the patent was updated to mention that they could use convolutional neural networks, which may or may not use the same tech that powers generative AI. So it’s possible that Nintendo has a 4K upscaling solution that they didn’t bother adding to the dev kits, as they could show the developers or just apply themselves later.
In so many words, it’s clear that Nintendo will have to address the question of 4K support on their Switch 2 Direct. Or if they didn’t manage to add it to the presentation, they will have to share an answer to the public shortly afterwards.
We think a lot of their loyal fans, many of whom also game on other platforms, won’t mind if Nintendo still hasn’t jumped onto 4K, or falls shot with 1440p. Whether they have a disappointing or surprising answer to this question, they should answer it as soon as possible. The last thing they need is for the consumers to feel that they were misled by something rumors promised and they never addressed.
