Nintendo Reportedly Showed Switch 2 Demos To Developers At Gamescom

During last month's Gamescom Nintendo's showfloor booth had a surprise up its sleeve for the developer presentations. Eurogamer reports that some trusted developers got a look at Nintendo Switch 2 behind closed doors and a demo of how games run on the system. 

While Nintendo had only confirmed a Mariokart Championship, a Super Mario RPG remake, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and the untitled Princess Peach game for the gaming convention held in Cologne in August, developers got a demo of an improved version of the Switch launch game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, running at a higher frame rate and resolution at the new Nintendo console.

Read More: Nintendo Switch Successor Possibly Scheduled For Launch In Q1 Of 2024

Reports: Nintendo Showed Off Epic Games’ The Matrix Awakens On Unreal Engine 5

Windows Central’s Jez Corden also shared rumours back in August that Nintendo is planning to discuss Switch 2 behind closed doors. Video Game Chronicles confirmed reports that Nintendo also showcased Epic Games’ The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo which reportedly used Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technology with ray tracing enabled which had visuals ‘comparable to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles'. This indicates that Nintendo and Nvidia are collaborating on a chip upgrade for the unannounced console.

With Microsoft, Dell and Lenovo making a play for the handheld market and Valve's ongoing success in console wars, it'd be interesting to see what Nintendo's upcoming console, referred to by industry sources as Switch 2, brings to the table. 

 A next-generation Switch has been rumoured for years. In 2020, Bloomberg reported that Nintendo was working on a 4K version of the Nintendo Switch. Recent reports suggest that Nintendo is targeting a late 2024 launch for the system and that it is being shown to external, third-party developers at the moment, via development kits. It has been widely reported that Nintendo is looking to launch the new console with an LCD screen rather than OLED, to cut corners. The system will reportedly continue to read physical media via cartridge.

Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the upcoming handheld, but it's very possible that the next-gen console will be made available in portable mode next year. Dr Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games told VGC that a 2024 console launch would make more sense for Nintendo. The gaming giant is projected to witness a double-digit decline in hardware and software sales for Switch in 2023.  “I would generally say that looking at Nintendo’s financials, it seems clear that it’s time for a new piece of hardware in 2024,” he said. “Hardware is already projected to fall 16.5% year-on-year in the current fiscal, while the minus for software is expected to hit 15.9%.