Porting Xbox Series S Games to Switch 2 Should Be Easy, According to Dev

Game remaster and adaptation specialist studio Virtuos is confident that the future Nintendo Switch 2 catalog could contain many Xbox Series S game ports, thanks to how similar the hardware is in the two systems. Not in terms of manufacturer—the Switch 2 uses an Nvidia GPU, whereas the Xbox Series S is based on AMD hardware—but in capabilities. If the Series S can run a game at 60fps, the developer said, the Switch 2 should have no problem.

One of the main reasons that more Xbox and PlayStation games weren't ported to the original Nintendo Switch is simply that it wasn't powerful enough. Its GPU was based on Nvidia's Maxwell architecture from 2014, and even then only had a couple of hundred GPU cores. The Switch 2, however, is based on the much-newer Ampere architecture that powered the RTX 3000 series and there are over 1,500 cores to play with. That gives it graphical power more akin to a GTX 1050 Ti when in docked mode—much closer to the capabilities of the Xbox Series S.

Eoin O' Grady, technical director at Virtuos subsidiary Black Shamrock, said in a chat with Wccftech that with the the use of DLSS, the Switch 2 will be able to match Series S or PS4 performance.

"GPU-wise, the Switch 2 performs slightly below the Series S; this difference is more noticeable in handheld mode," he said. "However, the Series S does not support technologies like DLSS, which the Switch 2 does. This makes the GPU capabilities of the two consoles comparable overall."

Although he did suggest the Switch 2's CPU was more akin to previous generation consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, that shouldn't prove a problem, as the games are mostly GPU-bound, he said.

"Any game shipping at 60fps on the Series S should easily port to the Switch 2," he said, though suggested that lower frame rate games would also be viable. "Likewise, a 30fps Series S game that's GPU-bound should also port well. Games with complex physics, animations, or other CPU-intensive elements might incur additional challenges in reaching 30 or 60fps or require extra optimization during porting."

This is already playing out in reality, as we have high-end visual feasts of games like Cyberpunk 2077 playing absolutely sublimely on the Switch 2.

Ports of popular games are also more likely to make the jump since the Switch 2 is proving exceedingly popular. Although there was some concern that the iterative design would lead to a similar lack of interest and console hardware sales, akin to the Wii U's following of the Wii, that hasn't proved the case. In its first month of release, Nintendo sold over 5 million of the new console.

Grady claimed that a big reason for that is the explosion of the handheld market.

"The original Switch, along with the Steam Deck and other high-quality handheld gaming rigs, has contributed to growth in this area. Gamers increasingly want AAA games on the go, and so I think we will see the Switch 2 surpass its predecessor."

While the Switch 2 has some time yet until it can catch the 150 million+ sales of the original Switch, its off to a flying start. Ports of big console AAA games from the past few years would certainly help keep that hype train rolling.