Fortnite is finally available on Nintendo Switch. We've been waiting for this moment to come, and now that it's here, I'm surprised you guys have even been able to tear yourselves away from the screen long enough to read this article. Millions of players are already enjoying Fortnite on the Switch, but how does it hold up to the other versions? As it turns out, really well!

In the video above, Digital Foundry takes a deep-dive into the Nintendo Switch version of Fortnite, and seeks to compare it to the beefier versions of the game. They did the unthinkable, and decided to compare the Nintendo Switch version to the Xbox One X version. Here we have the most popular game in the world running on the most modest hardware alongside the most powerful home console in the world. And you know what? We're really impressed!

Obviously some compromises have been made. When playing Docked, the Nintendo Switch versino will top out at 900p, compared to the Xbox One X version which is always rendering above 1080p and downsampling. There have been compromises in texture quality and filtering as well, which will lead to some murky details in the distance. Up close, however, textures look almost identical, and draw-distance is the same for players, buildings, and important objects.


The biggest difference for competitive players is going to be frame-rate. The Xbox One X and PS4 versions both run at a smooth 60 fps, with drops when the action gets hot and heavy. The Nintendo Switch version runs at 30 fps, and drops occur here too when the action heats up. Before you go grabbing for your torches and pitchforks, keep in mind that the Xbox One and PS4 versions ran at 30 fps as well, and had to be updated and optimized before 60 fps gameplay was possible. We fully expect EPIC Games to further optimize the Nintendo Switch experience as well. We have no idea if 60 fps will be achievable, but we're hoping that the team can pull it off.

Digital Foundry's summary, which you can find in their full write-up, leaves a great taste in our mouths: "As ever, it's best to see Switch as a powerhouse handheld with the bonus of docked TV play; in the midst of all the versions out there, the visuals hold up surprisingly well despite the cutbacks, and the game is still eminently playable. And as a handheld experience, there's nothing quite like it."

Posted: Jun 17, 2018 9:03 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/06/15/fortnite-graphics-performance-nintendo-switch-xbox-one-x/