Nintendo’s large reveal of the Switch 2 again in April got here with many surprises, however maybe essentially the most surprising of them was that Cyberpunk 2077 was among the many launch lineup. Whereas the Switch 2 could also be an entire new technology for Nintendo, the console is – very like its predecessor – comparatively modest relating to {hardware} horsepower. Cyberpunk 2077, in the meantime, is without doubt one of the most technically formidable video video games ever made. Not solely that, however the Switch 2 model is the entire bundle, together with the Phantom Liberty enlargement that was designed with PS5, Xbox Sequence, and high-end PC specs in thoughts. And so all this poses a giant query: how has developer CD Projekt Red put Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2? Is that this a case of forbidden blood magic, or has the studio made deep compromises to the expertise? The reply is neither. In truth, this isn’t fairly the unimaginable port it appears from the skin.
“We actually thought it was going to be extra of a problem,” says Charles Tremblay, VP of Know-how at CD Projekt Red. “However in the long run, [it was] not that a lot.”
The street to Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch 2 model started again in summer season 2023, when Nintendo met with CD Projekt Red to debate its then top-secret new {hardware}. “At that time [there was] no Software program Improvement Package,” explains Tremblay. “Simply extra like ‘Okay, is there a risk for us to collaborate with this {hardware}?’ I bear in mind I used to be within the room and we simply checked out one another. It was like, ‘Yeah after all we are going to examine it [out], it appears like a very cool product.”
CD Projekt Red had, after all, already labored with Nintendo earlier than. The Witcher 3 had been ported to the unique Switch in 2019, though growth duties have been dealt with by Saber Interactive reasonably than CDPR itself. This time round issues needed to be completely different, partially as a result of the truth that the Switch 2 had but to be publicly introduced and so wanted to be stored a closely-guarded secret. “It was means simpler to have a really tremendous small group working end-to-end with Nintendo reasonably than delegating the method,” says Tremblay.
One other essential consider holding the event in-house was merely the studio’s data and experience in Cyberpunk 2077 itself. “We now have very key individuals in right here that know precisely make Cyberpunk run,” Tremblay says. And people individuals could be important, because the Switch 2 model required many parts of the sport to be re-engineered.
“Cyberpunk is constructed for x86 with previous PC structure,” explains Tremblay. “So this from the start was utterly completely different. Plenty of modifications needed to be finished on the engine stage, all of the shaders [are in a] completely different language. We needed to convert every part, some HLSL to GLSL. [The Switch 2 uses] a really, very completely different structure.”
One other factor the group needed to cope with was that the Switch 2 has fewer computational cores accessible than another platform Cyberpunk has been constructed for, together with earlier technology consoles. “We now have at the very least one core we share with the OS [operating system],” Tremblay reveals. That narrowing of assets implies that the place as soon as there was core area accessible to reinforce efficiency, that area now must be used for actions similar to decompression or IO operation. “This was one of many struggles we had, however in any other case I feel it was surprisingly quick to get the sport operating on the platform. We have been all tremendous impressed.”
Throughout the early phases of manufacturing, one of many primary goals was merely to “strive to determine if [running Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 is] even attainable.” Because it grew to become clear that the {hardware} was succesful, a key instrument in guaranteeing the expertise was as sturdy as attainable was Nvidia’s DLSS system. This rendering expertise makes use of synthetic intelligence to upscale decrease resolutions and generate extra frames, leading to sharper photographs with elevated framerates.
“With DLSS it positively will increase the standard you can have, on the go and on the TV,” says Tremblay. “That being stated, the expertise we constructed scales very effectively throughout all of the platforms.”
“We will modify the group density, we will modify the constancy we would like the characters to have once we swap ranges of element,” he explains. “So it was very, very simple. And, after all, the DLSS helped to convey the standard to a different stage, however I feel all of these issues collectively makes the port superb.”
Because the Switch 2’s {hardware} specs have been launched to the world, the go-to comparability has been a PlayStation 4. That’s a strong sufficient base for a handheld gadget, nevertheless it does set off alarm bells relating to Cyberpunk 2077 – a recreation that infamously ran terribly on that technology of consoles. So if the Switch 2 is sort of a PS4, that implies that Cyberpunk can be terrible on it, proper? Not a lot. Whereas the consoles share similarities, the Switch 2 advantages from many fashionable applied sciences. DLSS is certainly one of them, however there are a number of different components.
“It was very tough for the earlier technology of consoles,” Tremblay admits. “I feel I’ll say that essentially the most tough downside was the mechanical onerous drive, which is without doubt one of the issues that’s essential to not have.” The Switch 2 makes use of bespoke cartridges, however extra importantly it helps the brand new microSD Specific storage system that options sooner information learn and write speeds, “which is nice” in keeping with Tremblay.
“The Switch 2 has extra RAM [than the previous generation of consoles], which can also be essential,” he provides. All which means that not solely does the Switch 2 model of Cyberpunk 2077 run higher than the PS4 and Xbox One variations, nevertheless it additionally consists of the Phantom Liberty enlargement, which was a lot too demanding for previous tech and thus was not launched on last-gen techniques.
Make no mistake, some additional RAM, higher storage, and DLSS doesn’t miraculously flip the Switch 2 right into a high-end PC. And so Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo’s new console will not be the identical expertise as it’s on a RTX 5090-powered rig. The content material is similar – the identical missions, streets, characters, and weapons – however the decision and framerates are reigned in to make sure compatibility with the Switch 2’s specs. Much like the Xbox and PlayStation variations, there are two visible choices to select from: high quality mode hits 1080p/30fps, whereas the efficiency mode targets 40fps at 1080p when docked, or 40fps at 720p on the system’s personal display screen.
It’s not nearly decision and framerates, although. The group at CD Projekt Red fastidiously combed by way of the sport to evaluate what modifications they might make to make sure Cyberpunk was extra Switch 2-friendly. “We now have individuals which might be tremendous skilled concerning the recreation they usually actually checked out what sort of parity we need to have with different platforms, no matter compromise [we made],” Tremblay explains. “We do loads of iteration with them. So if we scale back the standard of [an element] and we play the sport, we determine ‘Okay, that is nice’ or ‘This isn’t.’ And a few of the those that have very, superb eyes could make these calls and we at all times attempt to compromise efficiency versus high quality.
“We do have some individuals which might be actually tweaking the settings, taking part in the video games repeatedly, to determine what sort of decision compromise we will have, what sort of high quality settings we will need to make one of the best expertise for the gamers.”
Whereas the Switch 2 has comprehensible limitations, CD Projekt Red has agency high quality bars that it needs to stick to. That features a minimal body price of 30 frames per second.
“So simply to be clear, if it goes below 30fps, I do not assume that is nice,” Tremblay states. “There is no such factor as ‘Oh, that is fantastic to get 25 [fps in this section.’] No it is not, it needs to be 30fps in all places.”
Whereas 60fps has grow to be the extensively accepted golden customary by many builders and gamers, hitting that bar on Switch 2 {hardware} with a recreation as complicated as Cyberpunk 2077 is a tall ask. It’s why the efficiency mode targets a center floor.
“I feel the 40fps is an excellent compromise to the 60fps,” Tremblay says. “Truthfully, I feel it is a recreation changer, at the very least for me as a gamer. And we have now the identical on docked mode. The distinction is that on docked mode it is dependent on your TV setting. So in case you have a 120Hz refresh price, then you may have the 40fps mode.”
All this discuss of body charges, resolutions, and compromises ignores the actual strengths of the Switch 2 model, although. Nintendo’s {hardware} offers a novel strategy that CDPR has embraced. “I feel that on the hand held gadget, I feel the expertise is excellent,” says Tremblay. “I feel the expertise that we have now, that’s means completely different than different platforms, with the gyros, the Pleasure-Con, the mouse help. I feel the entire bundle basically, I feel it is fairly good.”
CDPR has gone all-in on these options. Movement controls let you increase the taking pictures mechanics with delicate actions of the Pleasure-Cons. If you happen to’re on the lookout for one thing extra exact, you may flip the right-hand controller on its aspect and use it as a mouse, leading to an aiming expertise nearer to that utilized by the PC model. And, after all, all this may be finished on a bus, a airplane, or on the backside of your backyard.
“I do assume that each one these issues that the platform launched [is] what makes this model completely different,” Tremblay says. “On the identical time [it’s] the identical nice expertise, do not get me incorrect, however completely different, however not competing with the high-end high quality path tracing on PC you can have. This isn’t the aim, however the platform as an entire I feel stands on its personal.”
That final level is the actual key to understanding the Switch 2 port. The entire undertaking is about making an awesome model – not the best model – of Cyberpunk 2077. And even then, that measurement of ‘best’ relies upon on your priorities. If you have already got a PC or a PS5 and also you demand a silky-smooth framerate at 4K, then possibly the Switch 2 model isn’t an awesome match for you. However when you’re primarily a Mario fan who solely buys Nintendo consoles, then this new model of Cyberpunk 2077 is the best model, as a result of lastly there’s a model for you.
And for these with each techniques, there’s flexibility. “We now have the cross save,” says Tremblay. “You possibly can go to your own home, you play on PC, and if you wish to go, if you wish to proceed your recreation, it is no large deal. You simply take your save. So for me, it is positively the hand held gadget to play on the go. It is a system vendor for me, for certain.”
Matt Purslow is IGN’s Senior Options Editor.