Elden Ring was in rough shape on Switch 2 when people first tried it out last year, leading publisher Bandai Namco to significantly delay its launch plans. It’s now 2026, and ahead of its new release date of August 28, has that extra time in the development oven helped smooth out Elden Ring on the Nintendo hybrid console? Yes–but only to a certain point.
Senior video producer Jake Dekker has spent over a week with the game, playing it in both docked and handheld modes. The key takeaway is that Elden Ring runs at a consistent frame rate, but not the highest one.
“While there are certainly frame rate drops, it never hits the lows that we saw in some of that preview footage,” Dekker explained. It runs a lot better. That being said, the frame rate is still far from perfect. I’ve done most of my playing docked, but I’ve also done some handheld, and you definitely notice those frame rate drops here and there. I don’t think it’s so bad that it’s distracting or unplayable. But for those who played Elden Ring on PC, Xbox Series X, or PlayStation 5, you’re definitely going to notice the frame rate. It’s not hitting that smooth 60 frames per second that we saw in those versions. And to be honest, that is a little disappointing.”
Bandai Namco hasn’t officially confirmed the resolution and frame rate targets for Elden Ring on Switch 2 yet, but so far it looks like the game mostly hits a consistent 30fps in docked mode. While 60fps would make some of the tougher boss fights a little easier to handle–considering just how important timing is in them–having the game run at a cinematic frame rate doesn’t make it unplayable. If you don’t mind seeing a smaller number of frames per second, you’ll still be in for a good time, as the Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 includes both Elden Ring and its critically acclaimed Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
That’s a chunky amount of content for $80, and this version of the game throws in new skins for your steed Torrent, unique in-game armor sets and skins, and two new classes: the Heavy Knight and the Idus Knight. But if you’ve already played a lot of Elden Ring in the last couple of years, your mileage may vary on the value proposition–plus, you can stick to a version of the game that offers more technical options for enjoying its visuals on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
And if the 30fps frame rate is a dealbreaker for you? From Software’s The Duskbloods should satisfy that craving for a 60fps souls-like experience when it eventually launches for Switch 2, as early gameplay looks promising.
