Nvidia Announces AI and Ray Tracing for Nintendo Switch 2 SoC, Details Remain Under Wraps

Yesterday, Nintendo captured the gaming world’s attention with the formal presentation of the Nintendo Switch 2. However, the event left some curious minds hungry for details about the chip inside the new console. In an interesting turn of events, rather than Nintendo spilling the beans, Nvidia, the creator of the custom chip, stepped forward with a few insights via a blog post.

At a developer roundtable, Tetsuya Sasaki, the technical director for the Switch 2, shed a little light on why Nintendo keeps its cards close to its chest regarding hardware details. “Nintendo tends to keep the hardware specs under wraps,” Sasaki noted. “Our main focus is really on delivering value and joy to our users.”

Taking a leaf out of Nintendo’s book, Nvidia is also staying tight-lipped about specifics like core counts and clock speeds. Nevertheless, they’ve let slip that the new chip reportedly packs a punch with “10 times the graphics performance of the Nintendo Switch.” That’s a bold claim that has everyone excited.

This enhanced performance is fueled by Nvidia’s RT cores, which facilitate hardware-based ray tracing, together with enhanced lighting and reflections. Meanwhile, the tensor cores do the heavy lifting for DLSS upscaling, likely enabling a smooth 4K experience when the console is docked and making those frames fly up to 120 per second in handheld mode.

Additionally, Nvidia boasted that the tensor cores come loaded with AI capabilities for face tracking and background removal. These features were proudly showcased with the new social GameChat feature and tested firsthand in titles such as “Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV.” It’s unclear if this features technology from Nvidia’s PC-oriented Broadcast software.

An extra tidbit from Nvidia confirmed that the new Switch 2’s variable refresh rate display benefits from G-Sync technology during handheld play, offering a smoother gaming experience by curbing screen tearing.

Reflecting on the past, it’s worth remembering that Nvidia also supplied the original Switch with its custom spin on the Tegra X1 chip. That chip proved to be a workhorse, powering games even eight years post-launch, despite being somewhat dated from the outset.

As we inch closer to the Switch 2’s highly-anticipated debut on June 5, priced at $449.99, it remains to be seen just how much developers will harness the potential of this impressive, yet mysterious, new chip. Stay tuned!