Digital Foundry Says Xbox Series S Helped Ready Developers for Switch 2 Ports

Q: Has AI upscaling made Nintendo's Switch 2 more graphically advanced than the Xbox Series S?

Not outright. AI upscaling has made the Switch 2 capable of producing better image quality than the Xbox Series S in some games, but it has not clearly made Nintendo’s machine more powerful overall. Digital Foundry’s view is that the two systems are close enough in target settings that Series S versions are often a useful guide for Switch 2 ports. In games such as *Final Fantasy VII*, developers are expected to make similar visual compromises on both machines. That suggests the Switch 2 is not operating in a wholly higher graphics class. Where Switch 2 gains ground is NVIDIA’s DLSS. Because DLSS can reconstruct a sharper image from a lower internal resolution, Switch 2 can sometimes look cleaner than Series S on a 4K display despite weaker or similar raw hardware. Digital Foundry cited *Resident Evil Requiem* as an example where Switch 2 appears better in image quality, even though the Series S still delivers stronger performance. That distinction matters. “Graphically advanced” can mean two different things: raw rendering power and final on-screen image. On raw performance, the Series S generally remains ahead or at least more consistent. On perceived image quality, especially when DLSS is well implemented, Switch 2 can match or surpass it in specific cases. So the fairest answer is that AI upscaling has made the Switch 2 more competitive, and sometimes visually superior, but not categorically more advanced than the Xbox Series S overall.

3 articles · Updated · Windows Central · Jun 20

Digital Foundry said developers’ work on Xbox Series S has effectively prepared them for Nintendo Switch 2, because many of the same visual compromises and optimization choices carry over.
Final Fantasy VII was cited as a close match, with Series S and Switch 2 versions using similar settings and trade-offs; the outlet said it often studies Series S builds to gauge Switch 2 port performance.
Switch 2 is not a one-to-one equivalent, though: NVIDIA DLSS can give Nintendo’s system better image quality in some cases even when raw hardware is weaker.
Resident Evil Requiem was highlighted as one example, with Digital Foundry saying Switch 2 looks cleaner from an image-quality standpoint while Series S still delivers stronger overall performance.
The view fits a broader industry argument that Series S has forced studios to optimize more aggressively, work that can also benefit ports and performance on other hardware.