Nvidia Confirms AI and Ray Tracing Capabilities for Nintendo Switch 2 Chip, Details Remain Under Wraps

Nintendo certainly grabbed all eyeballs with the recent announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, but they’re keeping a tight lid on its hardware specifics. While they haven’t shared much, Nvidia, the tech giant behind the custom chip for this new console, decided to shed a bit of light in a recent blog post, though not too much.

During a developer roundtable, Tetsuya Sasaki, the tech director of Switch 2, commented, “Nintendo doesn’t usually dive deep into hardware specs. We prefer emphasizing the overall value for our users.” Clearly, they want the focus to be on the experience rather than the numbers.

Even Nvidia is treading carefully on specifics like core counts and speeds. However, they do boast of a chip that delivers “10 times the graphics performance compared to the original Nintendo Switch.” That’s quite a leap forward.

This graphics boost is partly thanks to Nvidia’s RT cores, which enable hardware ray tracing, lighting, and reflections, and their tensor cores that handle DLSS upscaling. With DLSS in play, we can expect up to 4K performance when docked and up to 120 frames per second in handheld mode, which is impressive.

Tensor cores also bring exciting capabilities like AI-driven face tracking and background removal, showcased in the new social GameChat feature. These elements were also part of our hands-on time with some new games, including ‘Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV.’ It’s still uncertain if these features share any tech roots with Nvidia Broadcast from the PC world.

Moreover, Nvidia confirmed that the Switch 2 will feature G-Sync-powered variable refresh rate (VRR) for its handheld displays, significantly reducing annoying screen tearing.

Nvidia’s relationship with Nintendo isn’t new. They powered the original Switch with a custom version of the Tegra X1. Despite being somewhat of an old-timer at launch, this chip has continued to support new games for over eight years now—a testament to its robustness.

Enthusiasts are waiting eagerly to see what developers can extract from this new chip once the Nintendo Switch 2 hits the shelves on June 5, priced at $449.99.