On June 5, Nintendo will release its highly anticipated new console, the Switch 2. One of its launch games will be Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, the popular action RPG by CD Projekt. Originally released in 2020, this new version will include the original game and the praised Phantom Liberty expansion.
Now, new details about this version have emerged. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch 2’s hardware allows them to create a better version of Cyberpunk 2077 than was possible on PS4 and Xbox One.
Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch 2 Version Promises Big Improvements
When the game was first released, it had serious performance issues on the older generation consoles. Its expansion was released only for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Now, CD Projekt will bring both the base game and the expansion to the Switch 2 under the name Ultimate Edition. The game will be available with improved graphics and smoother performance.
Tim Green, an engineer at CD Projekt Red, was asked about the performance of the new version. He explained, “We are currently targeting 1080p resolution in TV quality mode, TV performance mode, and handheld quality mode—and targeting 720p performance in handheld performance mode.” He added that when playing in docked mode, Switch 2 offers more power, but it still uses Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) when playing on handheld.
When asked how the Switch 2 version compares to the PS4 and Xbox One versions, Green responded, “Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a tremendous amount of ongoing love as we’ve continued to improve the game. In bringing the Ultimate Edition to Nintendo Switch 2 we were able to build on top of that already solid base.” He acknowledged that development still had challenges but said they were careful to make sacrifices that wouldn’t compromise the game’s vision.
Green also mentioned, “We haven’t had to fight with fitting into memory. And the speed of the data storage has helped alleviate some of those early streaming problems. This has allowed us to focus our attention on improving other things, and we’re very happy with the result.” This comment refers to the texture loading problems that affected the original PS4 and Xbox One versions.
Earlier this month, Nvidia confirmed that the Switch 2 supports DLSS technology. CD Projekt also shared with Digital Foundry that Cyberpunk 2077 will be the first game to use DLSS on the Switch 2. “We’re using a version of DLSS available for Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, powered by Nvidia’s Tensor cores,” said the studio. “The game utilises DLSS in all four modes: in handheld and docked, and the performance and quality variations of each.”
