Cyberpunk 2077 dev reveals how The Witcher 3 is key to Nintendo Switch 2 port

Porting any open-world title to the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be a daunting task, especially if the game is as rich as Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red’s enormous futuristic RPG delivers stunning visuals and packs in tons of content, but the question remains: will it thrive on Nintendo’s new handheld? In a new interview with the studio’s vice president of technology, Charles Tremblay, he details the mission to bring the game to the small screen.

Speaking to Nintendo Life, Tremblay discusses the lesson learned on The Witcher 3’s Nintendo Switch port. CD Projekt Red’s Switch iteration of Geralt of Rivia’s adventures is a wicked feat, even though it does suffer on the performance side in our experience.

Tremblay says it “gave us a head start when beginning work on Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for Nintendo Switch 2. While the new hardware is significantly more powerful, its CPU is in the same family as the original console, so we already knew how to tackle many of the low-level challenges.”

One point of contention for the new portable gaming console is frame rate. Cyberpunk 2077 can reach up to 40 FPS in performance, while quality mode caps it at 30 FPS. It’s a happy medium that isn’t too dissimilar to playing it on Steam Deck. Because the team purpose-built this port for the Switch 2, you can expect it to retain the game’s distinct visual flavor.

“We used a lot of the tech offered by the Nintendo Switch 2’s custom NVIDIA processor, including DLSS and VRR […] are very happy with the result,” Tremblay adds.

Cyberpunk 2077 launches with the Nintendo Switch 2 release date, but you don’t need to wait until then to learn about how the console performs. During our Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on preview, we checked out new Switch games like Mario Kart World, Donkey Bonanza, and Nintendo Switch 2 editions of beloved Zelda games.

Aside from seeing how Cyberpunk 2077 fares on the handheld, there’s one game I’m personally itching to see in action: Project 007. The brand-new James Bond adventure from Hitman developer IO Interactive remains secretive, but the fact that it’s landing on Switch 2 is incredibly exciting.

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