Nintendo Dismisses 4K Switch Report

Nintendo has firmly denied the report of a new 4K Nintendo Switch. Last night, Bloomberg (behind a paywall) claimed that at least 11 companies, with Zynga included, possess “tools” from Nintendo for creating 4K Switch games. The report further asserts that these companies have a 4K development kit for the Switch, and this hitherto unannounced 4K Switch would not be released until late next year at the earliest.

Shortly after the report was published, Nintendo issued a statement to refute it. The full statement reads as follows:

“A news report on Sept. 30, 2021 (JST) wrongly alleges that Nintendo is providing tools to facilitate game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support. To ensure accurate comprehension among our investors and customers, we wish to clarify that this report is untrue.

“We also wish to reemphasize that, as we announced in July, we have no plans for any new model other than the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, which is set to launch on October 8, 2021.”

Nintendo is undoubtedly preparing for the launch of the OLED Nintendo Switch on October 8th, and is likely eager to focus attention on that. For more details, check out Martin’s hands-on experiences with the Nintendo Switch OLED.

We also wish to reemphasize that, as we announced in July, we have no plans for any new model other than the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, which will be launched on October 8, 2021. (2/2)

— Nintendo Co., Ltd. (@NintendoCoLtd) September 30, 2021

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Bloomberg also features a statement from Zynga denying that it has a 4K Nintendo Switch development kit.

“To make it clear, Zynga does not have a 4K developer kit from Nintendo,” Zynga stated.

So, what is the actual situation? Bloomberg mentioned that the OLED Nintendo Switch was originally intended to contain a faster chip from Nvidia that would have enabled 4K, but “the 4K capability did not materialize”. Bloomberg is unsure when the design was altered, but a source suggested that the reason for the change was “component shortages” caused by the pandemic. Bloomberg claimed that Nintendo had already distributed 4K Switch development kits by July.

Have Nintendo’s plans for a 4K Switch altered? If so, its statement issued this morning remains valid. Indeed, Bloomberg suggests that “Nintendo could still decide not to release a 4K Switch”. This matter appears to be highly uncertain.

For the time being, it is worth exploring Digital Foundry’s ‘In Theory: Is 4K DLSS Really Viable for a Next-Gen Switch Pro?’ article to gain an understanding of the potential capabilities of this mythical console.