Ubisoft Explains Porting Assassin's Creed Shadows for Switch 2

After several delays and a bit of controversy, Assassin's Creed Shadows managed to captivate the fans of the iconic series when it was released this year. It's innovative additions to the franchise alongside have made the game a favourite of the players. With the release of the game on Nintendo Switch 2 getting closer, Ubisoft has released an in-depth overview of the technical work behind bringing Assassin's Creed Shadows to Nintendo's console, outlining the engineering decisions, visual adjustments, and platform-specific features designed to ensure the game performs smoothly on Nintendo's new hybrid platform.

Making it work properly

According to Ubisoft, the Assassin's Creed Shadows edition for Nintendo Switch 2 is built to run at a consistent 30 frames per second in both handheld and docked modes. Achieving this specific performance target required substantial reworking of the game's internal systems. Developers optimized the rendering pipeline, refined asset management, and rebalanced various environmental simulations, such as cloth physics and atmospheric effects, to reduce processing load without compromising the feel of the world.

The team also opted for baked global illumination rather than full ray tracing, a choice driven by the system's memory limitations. Visual elements like shadows, LOD transitions, draw distance, and world density were carefully tuned to preserve the look and immersion of the original release. One noticeable difference, however, is a lower number of NPCs in highly populated zones.

To counterbalance some of these compromises, the Switch 2 version leverages DLSS upscaling, allowing the console to render at lower internal resolutions while outputting sharper, more stable final images. Ubisoft says this improves texture clarity, reduces jittering in motion, and maintains color accuracy even during fast-paced combat or traversal.

When the console is docked, players can experience HDR support, offering richer contrast and improved lighting depth. In handheld mode, the game taps into the system's Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) capabilities. Although VRR typically functions best above 40 FPS, Ubisoft developed a dedicated algorithm to make VRR compatible with a 30 FPS cap, reducing stutter and maintaining a consistent visual experience.

Switch-exclusive features and content parity

Ubisoft has implemented several features tailored specifically for the Switch 2. Players can use touchscreen navigation for menus, the world map, and hideout management, allowing for more intuitive control when playing portably.

The Switch 2 edition will launch with all previously released updates for Assassin's Creed Shadows, excluding the upcoming Claws of Awaji expansion, which remains scheduled for early 2026. Full cross-progression through Ubisoft Connect ensures that saves can be carried over from other platforms, giving players freedom to switch between consoles. Additionally, Ubisoft confirmed that future enhancements are planned, including technical refinements and optional keyboard and mouse support when the console is docked.

Ubisoft's development team described the port as one of its most technically demanding tasks to date, requiring a re-evaluation of how nearly every system interacted with the hardware. Despite the complexity, the studio emphasized that maintaining the "soul and scale" of Assassin's Creed Shadows was the guiding priority throughout the process.

While the Switch 2 version inevitably includes certain visual reductions, Ubisoft insists players will still experience the full breadth of the game's open world, dynamic stealth mechanics, and dual-protagonist storytelling, now optimized for both big-screen and portable play. You can keep track of the best deals for Assassin's Creed Shadows on all platforms with our comparator.