Switch 2 Couldn’t Manage 4K@60 in NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening Complete Edition

There’s a lot of speculation about what the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, due to debut next week in stores globally, can achieve in terms of system performance. The system supports up to 120 frames per second in handheld mode and up to 4K and 60 frames per second in docked mode, and complex open world games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws are being ported to the hardware.

However, speaking to Koei Tecmo in an interview about the launch title NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening Complete Edition, we learned that the Japanese team tried to run the game at 4K resolution and 60FPS but had to scale down to just 1080P@30FPS. Here’s what game producer and director Michi Ryu told Wccftech:

We are not using NVIDIA DLSS. The game runs at Full HD and 30fps. We also experimented with 4K and 60fps, but the power required to render the Japanese archipelago with these graphics is more than you can imagine and difficult to keep stable, so we had to give up. We hope to revisit this challenge in the future if the opportunity arises.

NOBUNAGA’s AMBITION: Awakening isn’t exactly the most taxing game, as you can see from its recommended requirements for PC:

• OS: Windows 10, Windows 11, 64bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 or over (Windows 10), Intel Core i3-8350K or over (Windows 11)
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060(6GB) or over, AMD Radeon RX580(8GB) or over
• DirectX: Version 11
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: 16-bit stereo, 48KHz WAVE file can be played
• Additional Notes: 1920 x 1080 Display required

Still, owners of the Nintendo Switch 2 will at least see a major graphics improvement, according to Ryu:

Thanks to the hardware evolution of Switch 2, the graphics have been significantly improved. Elements like the sea, sky, and ground look much more real, enhancing the immersive experience of the game. Being able to have this level of graphics in a portable format is a major point to be enjoyed by players. Additionally, with mouse operation via Joy-Con 2 and USB mouse support, intuitive controls are now possible. We have also included some game content that was previously only available in Asia, so we hope players will enjoy those as well.

The Nintendo Switch 2 launches on Thursday, June 5. Check out our info roundup article here.