Next-gen

Nintendo tells devs to prep for the Switch's 4K upgrade

Not wanting to get left behind during the next-gen console launches, Nintendo is putting a fresh coat of paint on its Switch.

Thanks to its little handheld hybrid console, the Switch, Nintendo is having a great year. According to some details dropped by Bloomberg, 2021 is going to be even better.

Buried in a piece about Nintendo ramping up its hardware production, for what's bound to be a bonkers holiday sales season for the company, is a little tidbit about the system's future. Apparently Nintendo is telling its third-party developers to brace themselves for 4K — a long-rumored feature we’ve been skeptical of in the past.

“Nintendo has asked [several outside game developers] to make their games 4K-ready, suggesting a resolution upgrade is on its way,” the article reads. There’s nothing new about the console refresh that we hadn't heard already, but it's certainly nice to have some confirmation that things are in the works. Watch out, Microsoft and Sony.

Nintendo's leading the pack on innovation.Nintendo

Sword and Shield — Though, as we’ve said in the past, we don’t think 4K is exactly necessary for the Switch, it does make sense for Nintendo to try and keep the system alive for as long as possible and an upgrade like this will go a long way towards that. After the failure that was the Wii U, Nintendo must be relieved to be on a roll with its tiny gadget — and it needs to keep up that momentum.

Super Mushroom — Hopefully some of the larger games already released for the console — we're looking at you, Breath of the Wild, Skyrim, The Witcher 3, and The Outer Worlds — will also see updates to take advantage of the new hardware. In the meantime, you can enjoy Mario's 35th Anniversary festivities while you wait for the refresh.