Ubisoft is targeting 30fps, DLSS upscaling, always‑on VRR, baked GI, and even touch controls for Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Switch 2. Here’s how the port works under the hood, how it compares to PS5 and PC, and whether Nintendo’s new system should be your main platform or an on‑the‑go companion for feudal Japan.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows coming to Switch 2 is not just another downscaled port. Ubisoft is trying to deliver a full open‑world Assassin’s Creed on a hybrid handheld without cutting the game to pieces. To make that happen, the team has rebuilt parts of the tech stack specifically around Nintendo’s new hardware.
Below is a technical breakdown of what Ubisoft is doing on Switch 2, how it stacks up against PS5 and PC, and which type of player should actually pick Nintendo’s system as their main home for Shadows.
30fps Across Docked And Handheld
Ubisoft has been clear: Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Switch 2 targets 30 frames per second in both docked and handheld modes.
On PS5 and high‑end PCs, Shadows is built around a 60fps experience with resolution and effects scaling around that target. Switch 2 simply does not have the same GPU and CPU headroom, so the developers locked to 30fps and then tuned everything to hold that line as consistently as possible.
A 30fps cap on a modern action game can sound disappointing, but it makes sense given the design goals:
The world is not being cut back to a “portable” SKU. Asset density, crowds, and world scale aim to stay close to PS5 and Series X. CPU resources are heavily taxed here, and halving the frame rate effectively doubles the time budget per frame.
Animation timing and camera work are tuned so that 30fps still feels responsive. Heavy parkour chains, parries, and stealth takedowns are timing‑sensitive, so the team has to manage input latency carefully. Expect input response to be closer to other recent 30fps open‑world games than to 60fps PC.
In practice, the 30fps cap is the foundation that makes all the other technical tricks viable. Everything from DLSS to baked lighting is then layered on top to push visuals as far as Switch 2 can go within a 33.3ms frame time.
DLSS Upscaling: Resolution Versus Clarity
The biggest headline feature is DLSS‑style upscaling. Switch 2 is built around Nvidia hardware, and Ubisoft is tapping into Nvidia’s reconstruction tech so they don’t have to render Shadows at the final display resolution every frame.
Instead of drawing a full native 1080p or higher image in docked mode, the game renders at a lower internal resolution, then upscales to the screen’s output. In handheld, the internal resolution can drop further while still presenting a sharp image on a smaller screen.
Compared to simple scaling, DLSS uses temporal data across multiple frames. In motion that helps rebuild edges, sub‑pixel detail on foliage, and distant geometry that would otherwise shimmer or blur. The key tradeoffs are:
On Switch 2, Ubisoft gets more GPU budget back for things like shadows, draw distance, and effects while still maintaining acceptable sharpness.
Fine detail and UI elements will not look as pristine as on a native 4K PC presentation, especially on a large TV. You may see reconstruction artifacts around thin geometry like branches or distant fences.
If you are used to PS5’s Quality Mode or PC at high native resolutions, Switch 2’s image will look softer and slightly noisier. In handheld mode that gap shrinks dramatically because of the smaller display and typical viewing distance.
The bottom line is that DLSS is the enabler for “real” Assassin’s Creed scale on a mobile‑class chip. Without it, you would likely be looking at harsher resolution cuts or more aggressive world detail reductions.
Always‑On VRR: Smoothing Out The 30fps Target
Variable Refresh Rate support is confirmed for Switch 2 and Ubisoft says VRR is always active in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
At 30fps, VRR won’t magically give you a 60fps feel, but it does help in two critical ways:
If the frame rate dips slightly below 30 in heavy scenes, your display can adapt on the fly instead of showing visible stutter or tearing.
Even when the average frame rate is 30, tiny variations in frame time can cause judder. With VRR, those micro‑fluctuations get hidden because the display’s refresh is synced to the engine’s output.
The result should be a more stable presentation than traditional 30fps console games on non‑VRR screens. It makes Ubisoft’s “30fps target” a little less intimidating because the moments where the engine struggles won’t be punished with immediate visual distractions.
Of course this assumes your TV or monitor supports VRR over HDMI and that Nintendo exposes VRR system‑wide the way Sony and Microsoft do. On handheld, Switch 2’s native screen will need its own variable refresh support for those benefits to carry over. Ubisoft is speaking as if that is a platform‑level feature.
Baked Global Illumination: Precomputed Light For A Portable World
Lighting is one of the biggest technical differences between Switch 2 and other platforms.
On PS5 and modern PCs, Assassin’s Creed Shadows leans heavily on dynamic global illumination and more advanced real‑time lighting models to simulate how light bounces, changes color when it hits different materials, and fills interiors with soft indirect light.
On Switch 2, Ubisoft is leaning on baked global illumination. Instead of computing complex light bounces in real time, the studio precomputes how light behaves in the environment and stores that data in lightmaps that get sampled at runtime.
This approach has clear strengths and limits:
Performance gains are huge. You avoid a big chunk of per‑frame lighting cost, freeing resources for draw distance, foliage, and characters.
Static scenes can look fantastic. Baked GI often delivers very smooth, noise‑free indirect lighting for buildings, streets, and natural landscapes.
Dynamic changes are constrained. Time of day transitions, weather, and destructible objects are harder to integrate because the baked data assumes a certain baseline scenario.
Expect Ubisoft to pair baked GI with cheaper dynamic touches where needed. Character lights, torches, and certain scripted sequences can still use run‑time lights layered on top of the baked base.
Visually, interiors and towns should still carry the moody, high‑contrast lighting look that defines Shadows, but if you put Switch 2 next to a high‑end PC, you will notice less reactive lighting, simpler bounce behavior, and fewer subtle shifts in scene color as the sun moves or storms roll in.
Touch Controls: Extra Input, Not A New Game
Alongside the visual tech, Ubisoft is using the Switch 2’s touch screen as another input layer in handheld.
The studio has not rebuilt Shadows around touch, so you should not expect a complete touch‑first HUD. Instead, touch appears to be used for quality‑of‑life interactions and UI shortcuts.
Map navigation is an obvious win. Pinch‑to‑zoom and drag gestures make it quicker to drop markers or plan routes across a large open world map.
Menu management also benefits. Tapping between gear slots, skills, or crafting menus feels faster than cycling through tabs with a stick.
Contextual prompts are possible too. Tagging enemies or placing stealth markers could be bound to quick taps, reducing friction when you are scouting an area.
In docked mode, touch controls will naturally fall away, but Ubisoft can still keep input parity by letting you do the same things with the controller. The touch layer is best seen as a bonus when you use Switch 2 as a portable, not a core mechanic that you miss out on when playing on TV.
Content Parity And Cross‑Progression
On the content side, Ubisoft is pushing hard for parity.
All title updates that exist on PS5 and PC at the time of the Switch 2 launch are baked into the cartridge or initial download. The only planned delay so far is the Claws of Awaji expansion, which is scheduled for Switch 2 a little later in February 2026.
Crucially, Ubisoft Connect cross‑progression is supported. Your save can move between Switch 2, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. That one feature strongly hints at how Ubisoft expects many players to treat the Switch 2 version.
Switch 2 Versus PS5 And PC: How The Port Really Stacks Up
Putting the specs and tech choices together, you can outline the practical differences between platforms.
Frame rate is the biggest divide. PS5 and powerful PCs will hit 60fps in performance‑oriented modes, often with VRR smoothing over hiccups. Switch 2 is a 30fps experience top to bottom.
Resolution and clarity are next. Even with DLSS, Switch 2 will render internally at significantly lower resolutions than PS5’s Quality Mode or a 4K PC rig. On a 4K TV, that means softer edges, more visible reconstruction artifacts, and less piercing fine detail. On the handheld screen, the gap is much less striking.
Lighting and GI are also clearly different. Baked GI on Switch 2 delivers impressive results for a mobile‑class device but cannot fully match the dynamic, physically‑based lighting on modern high‑end platforms. If you care deeply about accurate bounce light, shadow penumbra, and subtle atmospheric changes, PC remains the showcase.
Simulation depth and world scale are surprisingly close. Ubisoft is signaling that Switch 2 is running the full systemic world: the same mission content, similar crowd density, and environmental interactions. To hit that goal at 30fps, the team leaned on the tech discussed above instead of ripping systems out.
Load times and streaming will depend heavily on Switch 2’s storage and CPU bandwidth. You should expect slower transitions and more visible streaming than on a PS5 SSD, but the fact that Ubisoft is targeting the same core world speaks to how fast Nintendo’s new hardware is relative to the original Switch.
In visual terms, think of Switch 2 as roughly equivalent to playing a console version of Shadows in a hybrid of performance and quality modes, then locking it to 30fps and dialing back some of the most expensive real‑time lighting features.
Should Switch 2 Be Your Main Platform Or Your Companion Port?
With all of that context, the real question is simple: where should you play Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Switch 2 as a primary platform makes sense if you value portability above all else. You get the full game, story, and systems with robust visuals for a handheld, solid 30fps with VRR smoothing, helpful touch interactions, and content that largely matches PS5 and PC with only a timed delay on one expansion. If you live on a commute, travel often, or mostly play in bed or on the couch away from a TV, this version turns Shadows into a game you can actually finish.
Switch 2 as a companion platform is ideal for players who own a powerful PC or a PS5 and care about fluid motion and pristine image quality. Use your high‑end machine for your first playthrough to experience 60fps, higher resolutions, and more advanced lighting. Then, rely on Switch 2 with cross‑progression for side content, collectible cleanup, or a second stealth‑focused run on the go.
Switch 2 as your only system is viable if you are comfortable with a visual downgrade compared to what you see in marketing captured on PCs and next‑gen consoles. This is not a cloud stream or cut‑down spin‑off; it is the real Assassin’s Creed Shadows adapted smartly to mobile‑class hardware. You trade away frame rate and some visual gloss to gain true portability.
If performance fluidity and technical fidelity are your top priorities, PS5 or PC should be your main home. If experiencing feudal Japan anywhere in the real world matters more than razor‑sharp pixels, Switch 2 is shaping up to be a surprisingly capable way to live in this version of Assassin’s Creed.