Nintendo Adds VRR Support to Switch 2 in TV Mode With 23.0.0 Update

VRR adjusts a display's refresh rate to match a game's frame rate. The effect is smoother gameplay and less screen tearing, and it is most useful for games whose framerate is unstable. Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X already support the feature.

The same firmware adds a new toggle for handheld boost mode, placed in the console's quick settings. Nintendo also updated the Mii editor so that music can be enabled during some Mii creation, drawing on the Wii, 3DS and Wii U versions of the tool.

A further addition is the ability to carry out a full system transfer from one Switch 2 console to another. That option arrives just before a Zelda-themed Switch 2 goes on sale next month, giving buyers of the new model a way to move their data over from an existing unit. The Zelda-themed console was not detailed further in the report, and Nintendo has not said how the transfer handles individual save files or what storage limits apply.

The 23.0.0 release follows a launch period in which docked VRR was one of the Switch 2's outstanding commitments. Nintendo has not published a figure for how many titles will use VRR, and support depends on the television or monitor connected to the dock as well as on the game itself. The company also has not said whether additional display features will follow in later firmware versions.

According to The Verge, the update is the console's latest firmware release, and the features above are the changes it introduces. No other outlets' accounts of the update were included in the material reviewed.