Rumour: Developers Have Reportedly Been Working On “4K Switch Games”

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Nintendo Switch OLED
Image: Nintendo

Update: Nintendo has now responded to Bloomberg’s report, claiming it’s “not true”. Here’s the full statement:

“A news report on Sept. 30, 2021 falsely claims that Nintendo is supplying tools to drive game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support. To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to clarify that this report is not true.”

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

Original article: The new Switch OLED model releases worldwide next week on October 8th, but a new report from Bloomberg suggests a 4K Nintendo system could still be on the way. According to the source, employees from “at least” 11 game companies are in possession of “Nintendo’s 4K development kit for the Switch”. These teams are believed to “span the globe” and range from large publishers to small studios.

One of the companies Bloomberg has been in contact with is Zynga Inc. – the mobile giant behind the upcoming free-to-download title Star Wars: Hunters, expected to arrive in 2022. The employees behind this information were asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to discuss the projects publically.

Bloomberg goes on to state how a Nintendo system capable of handling 4K games “isn’t expected to be released until late next year at the earliest”. The developers in possession of 4K kits “declined to speculate on Nintendo’s plans for another console” but said their “4K Switch games” would likely arrive “after the second half” of 2022. The source further notes how the actual number of companies using these 4K kits is “probably much higher” than the 11 identified.

In July 2021, not long after the reveal of the Switch OLED model, Nintendo said it had “no plans for launching any other model”. Bloomberg’s report claims the company had already “handed out the 4K kits to outside developers” by then, and asked them to design software that would support the higher resolution.

The report signs off by saying Nintendo could still decide not to release a 4K Switch, based on strategic reasons and technical challenges. What do you make of this latest rumour? Leave a comment below.