The Witcher 3 getting a Switch port is excellent news, as long as players are prepared for a version of the game that looks nowhere near as good as its console and PC cousins. Tweeted on Tuesday and confirmed to Kotaku by CD Projekt Red today, the Switch version of Geralt’s adventure runs a step below the Switch’s max resolution both docked and handheld.
The Switch is a great console, but it’s not the most powerful. The maximum resolution it can output when docked is 1080p, or 1920x1080 pixels. Outside of the dock, max resolution steps down to 720p, or 1280x720 pixels. In order to get The Witcher 3 playable on Nintendo’s console,CD Projekt Red says the docked version will run at 720p with dynamic resolution enabled. Speaking to Kotaku via email, CD Projekt Red lead public relations manager Radek Adam Grabowski said that dynamic resolution means the resolution can scale down when the console needs to display more effects on the screen.
In handheld mode the resolution is capped at 540p, or 960x540 pixels. Grabowski called 540p the “max resolution” for the handheld, so it can dip further if need be.
The bad news is the Switch version of The Witcher 3, as evidenced in the trailer shown during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct, will never look as good as it looks on the Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 or PC. The good news is the port is being handled by Saber Interactive, the same studio that ported Mortal Kombat 11 to the Switch. Mortal Kombat 11 runs great on the Switch, even if it looks like a hamster has been chewing on it.
CD Projekt Red also told Kotaku that most of that game’s graphical user interface (GUI) has been redone for the Switch, with dynamic fonts and HUD size available depending on which resolution the game is running at. Also, touch controls for the map and inventory may be implemented post-launch, making the portable experience even nicer.