Nvidia Confirms AI and Ray Tracing for Nintendo Switch 2’s SoC, Details on Actual Specs Still Under Wraps

During yesterday’s big reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo made quite the impression, yet they kept their lips sealed about the chip powering the device. Thankfully, Nvidia, the company behind the custom chip, has shed a bit more light on the matter in a recent blog post.

At a developer roundtable, Tetsuya Sasaki, the technical director for the Switch 2, mentioned, “Nintendo doesn’t share too much on the hardware spec. Our main focus is always on what value we can deliver to our consumers.” This approach is something Nvidia seems to agree with, as they didn’t divulge specifics like core counts or speeds either. However, they did boast that the new chip delivers “ten times the graphics performance of the Nintendo Switch.”

Thanks to Nvidia’s RT cores, the Switch 2 can now handle hardware ray tracing, lighting, and reflections, while the tensor cores take care of DLSS upscaling. This DLSS capability is likely behind the system’s ability to deliver an impressive 4K performance when docked and to support up to 120 frames per second in handheld mode.

Another exciting confirmation from Nvidia is that these tensor cores facilitate face tracking and background removal through AI. This was highlighted with the new GameChat feature and seen in action during our hands-on experience with games like Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV. It’s still unclear if this tech draws on any similar mechanisms from Nvidia Broadcast on PC.

Moreover, the updated display boasts a variable refresh rate (VRR), powered by G-Sync in handheld mode, aiming to eliminate screen tearing issues.

It’s worth noting that Nvidia also supplied the technology for the original Nintendo Switch, utilizing a custom version of the Tegra X1 chip. Even though the chip was considered old when it first launched, Nintendo successfully extracted ample performance from it, with games still being released eight years on.

As we eagerly await the debut of the Switch 2 on June 5th, carrying a price tag of $449.99, it will be interesting to see how much developers can harness from this new chip.