The Nintendo Switch 2 Can Handle AAA Games Better Than People Think

When the Nintendo Switch 2 came out, I was a bit skeptical that such a thin and light device could handle AAA, blockbuster games. But when I actually got it in my hands and reviewed it, I was impressed to see that it was capable of running demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 just as well as my Steam Deck could. Since then, it's continued to prove itself by capably running other beefy games like Star Wars Outlaws and, more recently, Final Fantasy VIII Remake. The catch? All these games were all a few years old, and with the exception of Star Wars Outlaws, they all had versions for last-generation systems.

As we started moving into 2026, I was still left wondering how well the Switch 2 will be able to keep up with brand new AAA titles as they come out. Based on some hands-on time I've had with two upcoming technical showpieces, the answer is "very well."

Playing Pragmata on the Nintendo Switch 2

Last week, I attended a preview event hosted by Nintendo where I got to play the Switch 2 editions for Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as the brand new game, Mario Tennis Fever. All of these looked great, but they didn't really push any kind of graphical boundaries. My real interest was in the two third-party titles at the event, both of which were being shown off by Capcom.

The first was Pragmata, an upcoming sci-fi shooter that, most importantly for our purposes, uses the notoriously performance-hungry RE Engine. When it works, this engine is great for fidelity in particular lighting, but optimizing for the thing has been a nightmare on even powerful systems, as evidenced by frame rate-wrecking bugs continually popping up in games like Monster Hunter Wilds. While that's an open-world game, meaning it has to render a lot at once, Pragamata itself is no slouch, and I figured it would make a perfect test case for whether the Switch 2 can handle not just older AAA releases, but new ones, too.

The verdict? If you had told me this thing were running on a PS5, I'd believe you. I played the game in both handheld and docked mode, and on the TV, it was easy to forget everything but the gameplay and just sink right into the experience. Textures were smooth, the resolution seemed to be at least a solid 1080p, if not higher, and I would say the frame rate was actually above 30 fps. I don't have any specific numbers—I wasn't able to test these settings at the event, and Capcom couldn't tell me any details—but my thought is that even if the graphics had compromises to run on the Switch 2, they weren't noticeable and didn't hamper my experience. Hardware snobs who absolutely need a 4K resolution and at least 60 fps might want to stick to PC, but results like this aren't too far behind what the other home consoles can do with the newest games and are a noticeable improvement on how the original Switch handled AAA games.

There, blockbuster games were often either pixelated and slow, or ran on the cloud and required an internet connection. Compromises like these were understandable there, but it sometimes meant you were focusing so much on the game's technical issues that it was difficult to get immersed in the gameplay, assuming developers even bothered to port a game to Switch in the first place.

None of these were problems when I was playing Pragmata on the Nintendo Switch 2. Controls were snappy, environments were easy to parse, and most impressively, the hair was on point! OK, that might sound a bit odd, but hear me out: It's actually super impressive.

Naturalistic long hair has been a nightmare for video games to render until very recently, which is why if you've ever played a video game with a customizable character, the hair options often cap out at medium length, or are very stylized. Pragmata, meanwhile, makes a point of having a companion character at your side at all times who has messy, frizzy, unkempt hair almost down to her waist. And each individual strand of that hair has physics on it, so it moves realistically rather than as one big blob.

That takes a lot of processing power to simulate, and is clearly meant to be a bit of a technical brag for Capcom. But while the devs' work optimizing the game to handle this hair is definitely to be commended, it's also reassuring that the Nintendo Switch 2 didn't buckle at all while doing this. In fact, it seemed like it still had horsepower to spare, based on how consistent the gameplay was. I encountered no frame rate dips, which was a lifesaver in pitched battles.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The only noticeable quality loss was when I played in handheld mode, which seemed to reduce the resolution to about 720p. Here, the game looked a bit pixelated, but given that the PS5 and Xbox don't even have an option to go portable, it's a compromise I'm willing to accept. In a fair, TV-to-TV comparison, I'm happy to report that Pragmata on the Switch 2 is a more than acceptable way to experience the game, even right down to that folicular fidelity.

Playing Resident Evil Requiem on the Nintendo Switch 2

Pragmata is a pretty game, no doubt, but the real technical showpiece at the preview event was Resident Evil Requiem. Also using the RE Engine, if Pragmata is a strong indicator for how the Switch 2 simulates physics, then Resident Evil does the same for lighting.

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Again, performance is smooth, but I'd say the resolution here is more definitively closer to 1080p while the frame rate seems a little lower than Pragmata's. Still, character models are detailed, and animations play out without any weird jitters. Resident Evil has made a name for itself on both of these fronts with its recent titles, so it's great to see these qualities preserved.

Based on my experience with Pragmata, though, I expected this. What I didn't expect was just how realistic the lighting would be. Like the hair in Pragmata, realistic lighting is a bit of a performance challenge for games, especially now that many games are using ray tracing for their lighting, which means that lighting is calculated in real time using realistic pathing for each ray of light, rather than being "baked" into scenes ahead of time. This makes it easier for lighting to change on the fly and fall where a player might naturally expect it to, something that's important for Resident Evil, since the title uses it for gameplay. But it also puts a lot of strain on the system.

I was a bit worried going into this demo, because while I knew the Switch 2 was supposed to be able to handle ray tracing, I wasn't ready to believe it until I saw it, especially when it was being used for more than set dressing. In the demo I played, there's a monster that can't follow you into the light, and poor lighting might make it unclear where safe zones were. But like with Pragmata, my technical skepticism quickly drained away, and I instead just sat and quietly played, immersed in the game like I would be on any other console.

Here's the biggest bit of technical praise I can offer the Switch 2: Even in just a half hour of playing, Resident Evil Requiem on the Switch 2 still managed to scare the crap out of me. I left the event unsure of walking out into the dark night outside. If that doesn't tell you how bought in I was in just playing the game, instead of nitpicking pixelated character models or a wonky frame rate, I don't know what will.

What this means for Nintendo Switch 2 owners

I may not have been allowed to capture detailed performance data at this event, but I left pretty optimistic about the Switch 2's ability to handle AAA games. For years now, gamers have come to accept that multiplatform AAA titles will come out on Xbox and PlayStation, but will usually either skip Nintendo or come out for it years down the line. That's because the Wii was much less powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Wii U was less powerful than the Xbox One and PS4, and the Switch was less powerful than the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. After the GameCube, Nintendo has always been at least a generation behind when it comes to performance.

Now, it can finally stand toe-to-toe with its competitors again, just like when you had Nintendo's purple lunchbox in your living room. It may not be at the zenith of performance, but it's more than acceptable. I don't know how long this status quo will last—the next console generation is rumored to be facing delays right now. But for now, Nintendo owners can finally play the newest blockbuster games day-and-date with their Sony and Microsoft-owning friends, without needing to own a second system. That's great for developers and gamers, and should put anyone who just dropped $450 on Nintendo's latest at ease. You can finally pay attention to new AAA games as they come out again, and plus, you still have that handheld mode party trick.

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