Nintendo Switch follow up rumored to have been shown to developers behind closed doors at Gamescom
It's been a couple of weeks since Gamescom 2023 took place. A lot was revealed during the event such as General Shao and Sindel for Mortal Kombat 1, as well as Shaheen, Steve, Leo, Yoshimitsu, Dragunov and Kuma for Tekken 8
While these were some pretty substantial reveals, it would appear that there was something even bigger that was secretly being revealed to certain developers behind closed doors. In fact, it was reported that the Nintendo area at Gamescom had a significant amount of security.
Due to the extra security in the area, it was speculated that the follow up to the Nintendo Switch was being shown off. Sources close to Eurogamer and VGC have stated that this was indeed the case.
According to both sites, one of the games on the "Switch 2" shown at Gamescom was an advance port of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It should be noted that this game was only shown as a tech demo as there wasn't any indication that a Breath of the Wild port is actually planned for the new console.
VGC's sources claim that Breath of the Wild was running at a higher frame rate and resolution compared to the Switch version of the game. Additionally, developers were shown "The Matrix Awakens," a tech demo originally designed to show off the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series back in 2021.
Reportedly, the new console was running on Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technology, also known as deep learning super sampling. With DLSS, developers can achieve greater graphical settings and improved frame rates on cheaper hardware.
It was pointed out by Notebookcheck that VGC originally declared that the new console was using DLSS 3.5 before the article was edited to simply state that it was using DLSS. As of right now, DLSS 3.5 is the latest version of Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technology.
Of course, it should be noted that while the graphics and performance of the new console shown at the event might've seemed comparable to that of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, this doesn't necessarily mean that the Switch follow up will match those specs. Regardless, this suggests that this new console is getting a much greater upgrade over the Nintendo Switch than what was originally estimated.
Coincidentally, multiple sites have also reported on a "reliable leaker" known as "I'm A Hero Too" where it's been claimed that Square Enix has had access to Switch 2 dev kits for a while now. According to this leaker, Square Enix has plans to bring Final Fantasy 7 Remake to the Switch 2. The game looks about as good as it does on the PlayStation 5 and the porting process is said to be much easier, which addresses a problem that developers have reported on for the Nintendo Switch.
It's also been reported that the Switch follow up is backwards compatible with the Switch. However, the cartridges for the new console are said to be bigger than those of the Switch's. Like its predecessor, the Switch 2 will have a portable mode as well as a docked mode.
Notably, it's still believed that Nintendo is hoping to launch the new Nintendo console sometime in late 2024, but Eurogamer reports that Nintendo is keen on launching the console sooner if possible.
With rumors running rampant about a Nintendo Direct potentially happening on September 13, 2023, it's possible that we could hear news regarding the new console as soon as this upcoming week, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Even if a Direct is announced for next week, it's possible that Nintendo may withhold the announcement for just a little bit longer.
