After years of uncertainty about Nintendo's new console, an island of truth about the Switch's successor has emerged from the fog. VGC and Eurogamer have independently confirmed that, "Nintendo privately showed invited developers specially prepared tech demos for its next-generation games console." One of these demos used a modified version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at a higher framerate and resolution.
Eurogamer said:Developer presentations for Switch 2 took place behind closed doors, Eurogamer understands, with partners shown tech demos of how well the system is designed to run.
One Switch 2 demo is a souped up version of Switch launch title Zelda: Breath of the Wild, designed to hit the Switch 2's beefier target specs. (To be clear, though - this is just a tech demo. There's no suggestion the game will be re-released.)
VGC said:Another VGC source claimed that Nintendo showcased Epic’s impressive The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo – originally released to showcase the power of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 2021 – running on target specs for its next console. The demo is said to have been running using Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technology, with advanced ray tracing enabled and visuals comparable to Sony‘s and Microsoft’s current-gen consoles (however, it should be noted this does not mean the Switch successor will sport raw power anywhere near that of PS5 or Xbox Series X, which aren’t portable devices).
DLSS (deep learning super sampling) is a feature exclusive to Nvidia graphics cards. On PC, it works by using AI to upscale the resolution of games, effectively allowing developers to achieve higher graphical settings and better frame rates on weaker hardware. According to Digital Foundry analysis, DLSS at any normal screen distance “looks almost as good as the real thing.”
SOURCES
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-nintendo-showed-switch-2-demos-at-gamescom/
https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-demoed-switch-2-to-developers-at-gamescom