Ahead of the Switch 2 Direct next month, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together regarding how original Switch games might benefit from being played on a Switch 2. First we learned new details about Nintendo’s plan for AI upscaling on the new console, and now we have a tantalizing piece of info thanks to the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.
Monolith Soft’s sprawling sci-fi RPG might very well be our first glimpse of a “Switch 2 Enhanced” title.
A modder known as MasaGratoR on X (formerly Twitter) dug into the game’s code and uncovered what appears to be an unfinished “60FPS Mode” for Xenoblade Chronicles X. It’s believed to be unfinished because enabling it causes “weird issues.”
They also shared that the game uses dynamic resolution on Switch, ranging from 540p to 720p in handheld mode, and 760p to 1080p when docked. As you may know, dynamic resolution allows a game’s resolution to scale up and down based on the demands of any particular scene’s graphics in order to maintain a stable framerate. In the case of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on the original Switch, it’s 30FPS.
“Switch 2 Enhanced”
This seemingly unfinished “60FPS Mode” screams one thing: Switch 2.
The straightforward assumption is that once the Switch 2 releases, Monolith Soft will patch the game to launch either in 30FPS or 60FPS mode, depending on the console it’s being played on. Pop the game into the Switch 2, and Nintendo’s upscaling tech and Monolith Soft’s graphics work together to give you a steady 60FPS framerate and higher in-game resolutions.
This “Switch 2 Enhanced” approach will breathe new life into original Switch games, similar to how Sony handled the transition between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, offering graphical and performance upgrades for certain games released to both consoles. Let’s hope Nintendo hands out these upgrades for free, however, as a built-in reward for simply buying the hardware.
We already know the vast majority of our Switch games will work on the Switch 2, but enjoying them again with better graphics fidelity unlocked by the new hardware? That would be awesome. I believe that’s what we’re seeing buried in this Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition code. In less than two weeks, we should have our answer.