Nvidia's DLSS could be the Nintendo Switch 2's secret weapon, and Cyberpunk 2077 is proof

If you’ve been following the news at all, Nintendo Switch 2 ditched its AMD APU for a custom Nvidia Tegra processor, and because of that, as we just learned, CD Projekt RED is delivering DLSS to Cyberpunk 2077.

Following up with some questions from Digital Foundry, CD Projekt RED confirmed that it's using “a version of DLSS available for Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, powered by Nvidia's Tensor cores.” It went on to say that each mode, docked and handheld, set to either performance or quality, will use DLSS.

So, what does that mean exactly for Cyberpunk 2077? And more interestingly, what does that mean for the Nintendo Switch 2 as a whole?

Will DLSS be the saving grace of the Nintendo Switch 2?

For those out of the know, DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling; it’s Nvidia’s own upscaling technology that can make your games look sharper or run smoother beyond what your GPU can do naturally.

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a skeptic of DLSS, but I certainly have my criticisms. When I interviewed Nvidia about DLSS 4, I smelled a bitter scent in the air. And that really hit me when I played Monster Hunter Wilds. I fear, as do many, that developers will use DLSS not as a tool but as a support beam, an excuse to not properly optimize their games.

Despite that, I think DLSS has its place in gaming, and it’s exactly where it needs to be with the Nintendo Switch 2. Do you remember cloud games on the original Nintendo Switch? Resident Evil Village, Hitman, Control, and more. I’m not clowning on cloud games, but cloud games on the Switch? That was a nightmare.

It’s well known that Cyberpunk 2077 is a critical benchmark when testing GPUs, both at Laptop Mag and everywhere else. So if the Nintendo Switch 2 can run that, what else can it do? I’d love to see all future AAA games land on the Nintendo Switch 2.

And I think many fans would appreciate it if those aforementioned cloud games could run natively on the new Switch. Well, that’d be a developer thing, but come on, show the games some love.

To be clear, DLSS isn’t magic. We imagine the version on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a custom model, since Nvidia didn’t specify. But among the criticisms I do have is what you sacrifice by using DLSS. Now, it makes sense to leap toward this technology on the Nintendo Switch 2 because otherwise, you wouldn’t even get to play Cyberpunk 2077. However, you should know what you’re in for.

What is DLSS doing to Cyberpunk 2077

In Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt RED is targeting 30 frames per second in quality mode and 40 fps in performance mode, both in 1080p while docked. In handheld mode, you get the same frames, except 720p with performance and 1080p with quality.

Digital Foundry points out a few consequences of DLSS. For example, one of the poles in the background of Cyberpunk 2077 footage had a wobbly edge. It may not sound like much, but it can be pretty immersion-breaking seeing objects like that everywhere. Conversely, because of the low resolution and motion blur, the game does hide some of the odd edges that DLSS produces.

Typically, DLSS outputs its effects at native resolution, or it upscales resolution from a lower resolution. But here, Digital Foundry noticed, DLSS is outputting a lower resolution. The reason why that may be happening is to save bandwidth. Again, another tactic that may be allowing Cyberpunk 2077 to run on the Nintendo Switch 2 at all.

All of that is to say: It’s a handheld gaming device. AAA games aren’t going to look the same on the Nintendo Switch 2 as it would on PC or other consoles. However, this DLSS technology could not only lead to more AAA games landing on the Nintendo Switch 2, but we might see them without the infamous hiccups of the Switch era. Do you remember Mortal Kombat 11? I sure wish I didn’t.

AAA game developers had three options to get a game on the Switch: optimize, change, or cloud. Optimizing may make the game look worse, but at least it works. Cloud just sucks. And change is where things get weird. Mortal Kombat 11 in particular didn’t look anything like its PC or console counterparts.

And the wizard game that shall not be named had complete visual sections blocked off because the Switch could not handle the open world aspects.

I am not sold on DLSS being the future of gaming, but it certainly seems like a necessary future for the Nintendo Switch 2.