Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly shown off at Gamescom – and it's about time
Reports suggest the Nintendo Switch 2 was shown off to developers and partners at Gamescom, and that the as-yet unreleased console will get a much needed hardware update.
After showcasing some already-released games at Gamescom including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pikmin 4, it wasn't entirely clear why Nintendo was attending the event. However, according to a report from Eurogamer, it seems that the Nintendo Switch 2 was shown off in developer presentations.
Despite still not publicly announcing any plans for a Nintendo Switch 2 console, some rumours have suggested a 2024 launch, however, we don't think it'll be announced at the rumoured Nintendo Direct next week. With that in mind, it wasn't a complete shock to hear that Nintendo showed off its potentially upcoming console at Gamescom – if anything, I actually saw it coming.
Eurogamer's report states that a Nintendo Switch 2 demo showed off an upgraded version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which was designed to hit the beefier target specs of the new console. The purpose of these demos is to showcase to potential partners and developers the power and output capability of the new Nintendo Switch 2.
There was also a demo of The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech, which was first released to showcase the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X back in 2021, according to another report from VGC. This demo was said to be running Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technology as well as ray tracing which is in line with the current generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
Nintendo Switch 2 release set for next year as Zelda ushers in the end of Switch
VGC sources also stated that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to be used in portable mode, similar to the current generation console. Hopefully, this does end up being the case considering the main selling point of the Nintendo Switch is the ability to switch between handheld and docked mode – it's literally in the name.
It's about damn time...
It does feel like the original Nintendo Switch console has run its course having released it back in early 2017. It's approaching its seventh birthday and although this isn't typically too long for console lifecycles, the hardware in the original Nintendo Switch has become outdated pretty quickly, with ports of games like WWE 2k18 just not running as well as they do on other platforms.
It's about time we saw an updated Nintendo Switch console and with the supposed demos of the Nintendo Switch 2 featuring games developed using the stunning Unreal Engine 5, it feels like that's what we'll be getting. Pair this with the potential of ray tracing, the Nintendo Switch 2 could finally bring Nintendo games up to speed with the tech across the rest of the market.
The current Nintendo Switch doesn't feel like it can even come close to competing with the other current generation consoles. Hopefully, the Nintendo Switch 2 can change that.
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