Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Impresses on Nintendo Switch 2 – Digital Foundry Tech Review Highlights

Digital Foundry recently published its comprehensive tech analysis of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on the Nintendo Switch 2, casting a spotlight on how one of the industry's most technically demanding games performs on Nintendo’s next-gen handheld console.

Developed by CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 initially launched in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with substantial updates and next-gen enhancements following on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

The inclusion of the acclaimed Phantom Liberty expansion—a content update previously only available on more powerful hardware—marks a significant milestone for the Switch 2, as previous generation consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One were not supported for this expansion. In its evaluation, Digital Foundry notes that simply running Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition with the full Phantom Liberty expansion on Switch 2 represents a "remarkable technical achievement," especially given that CD Projekt Red opted to skip last-gen consoles due to their performance limitations.

While the Nintendo Switch 2 exhibits some hardware constraints, the ability to deliver this content affirms the advancements made in the new system’s architecture. Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 offers four clearly defined visual modes: 30fps quality and 40fps performance, each available for handheld and docked configurations.

Resolution breakdowns for these modes are as follows: - Handheld Performance: 640x360–1280x720 - Handheld Quality: 800x450–1440x810 - Docked Performance: 960x540–1920x1080 - Docked Quality: 1280x720–1920x1080 DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology is employed to enhance image quality and maintain higher resolutions.

The review points out, however, that fast-paced action can sometimes result in visual issues such as blurriness or temporal noise.

Still, aside from resolution differences, there is minimal disparity in overall image quality between docked and handheld gameplay. One standout detail highlighted by Digital Foundry is that the Nintendo Switch 2 matches the PlayStation 5 in terms of texture quality settings for Cyberpunk 2077, surpassing even Xbox Series X and the previous-generation consoles.

While texture consistency is maintained across most platforms, the Switch 2 emerges as one of the top-performing consoles in this specific aspect, leveraging DLSS to boost clarity and finesse over the PS4 experience. Nevertheless, the review notes that crowd and vehicle density in "Night City" on Switch 2 is more in line with the PS4 version, making for sparser city scenes.

This is an intentional design choice to prioritize consistent frame rates.

Shadow rendering quality varies as well: while indoor shadows are superior to those on PlayStation 4, outdoor sunlight shadows fall slightly short. Performance-wise, the Switch 2 reliably maintains its 30fps target in quality mode during the main storyline.

However, with the denser environmental complexity of the Phantom Liberty expansion, frame rates can dip to 20–25fps.

In the 40fps performance mode, smoother framerates are achieved mainly indoors, while outdoor action sequences can reduce performance to the 30fps range or just below.

Portable play benefits from variable refresh rate (VRR) support on Switch 2, smoothing out gameplay further—though occasional dips below the 30fps mark become more noticeable in handheld use. Ultimately, Digital Foundry’s assessment underscores the technical prowess of both CD Projekt Red and Nintendo’s hardware team.

Delivering Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and the demanding Phantom Liberty DLC on Nintendo Switch 2 signals a new era for ambitious third-party game support on Nintendo platforms, bridging the gap closer than ever to leading current-gen consoles.

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