Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour reportedly adjusts Dynamic Resolution Scaling based on the corresponding display output.
During a recent episode of Digital Foundry’s DF Direct podcast, crew member Oliver Mackenzie shared new insights into how the Nintendo Switch 2 may handle Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS) in future titles, revealing that the system’s rendering behavior can change based on the connected display’s resolution. This behavior was observed in the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour tech demo.
According to Mackenzie, Welcome Tour dynamically adjusts its internal rendering resolution depending on the resolution of the output display. For instance, if the system is connected to a 4K (2160p) display, the game internally renders at 720p and upscales to 4K. However, if the display is set to 1080p, the same demo only renders at 360p before scaling up. Similarly, when connected to a 720p display, the game drops its internal resolution down to 240p.
This suggests that the software, and potentially the Nintendo Switch 2’s operating system, has built-in logic to detect the resolution of the connected display and adjust rendering resolution accordingly. Unlike most consoles, which tend to lock rendering resolution based on performance profiles rather than display output, this behavior on Nintendo’s new console indicates system-level considerations geared potentially toward power efficiency.
Future Nintendo Switch 2 titles may be able to adapt more intelligently depending on whether they’re being played handheld, docked to a 1080p display, or connected to a 4K TV, though this sort of a DRS setup raises questions regarding the performance profile. Rendering at a lower resolution reduces the GPU workload and frees up resources, which could be used to improve aspects like frame rate.
In related news, YouTuber Spawn Wave recently discovered that the Nintendo Switch 2 dock supports VRR after all. While the console maker hasn’t officially enabled VRR in docked mode, the content creator’s hands-on test using a Steam Deck demonstrates otherwise. However, without software-level support from Nintendo, that potential remains theoretical on its new console.
