Assassin's Creed Shadows coming to Switch 2 with Scaled-Down Ray Tracing

Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 with reduced ray tracing and optimized performance for handheld play.

Hardware by Tanvir Kabbo on Nov 09, 2025

Ubisoft's next-gen plans for portable hardware are moving forward with the formal announcement that Assassin's Creed Shadows is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. A new trailer has come out. It first appeared in 720p on the official Nintendo channel.

Still, Ubisoft has released a 1080p version that offers a clearer view of how the game looks and functions. It's an ambitious project, and early impressions offer a fascinating look at how the title might perform on the new platform.

Assassin', Creed Shadows, coming to Switch 2, Scaled-Down Ray Tracing, NoobFeed

Assessing the Visuals and Ray Tracing

Tagen 86, one of our supporters, asked whether there are any signs of ray tracing (RT) in the released footage of Assassin's Creed Shadows for Switch 2. Based on the available media, we don't see any evidence of RT implementation. The lighting seems to rely on baked global illumination (GI) rather than the RTGI featured in the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions.

In naturalistic areas, such as forests and snowy landscapes between towns, the lighting feels flatter with less pleasing gradients between light and dark. Foliage lacks grounded shading, and the sky color dominates shadowed regions, often giving them a bluish cast.

These qualities suggest baked lighting rather than dynamic RTGI. While more detailed side-by-side comparisons would confirm this, our current impression is that the Switch 2 version employs a simpler lighting model.

It's worth noting that, despite running at 30fps, the Xbox Series S did not feature RTGI in any mode. That precedent could explain the likely absence of ray tracing on the Switch 2, particularly given its portable mode and the significant reduction in clock speed, which would make RTGI technically challenging to support.

Ubisoft's Asset Strategy

Ubisoft appears to be taking a cautious approach with its promotional materials. The trailer provided at 1080p and 30fps doesn't inspire much confidence in how the company wants to showcase the game's visuals. This is reminiscent of what happened with Star Wars Outlaws, where the studio initially released low-quality media assets that didn't reflect the final game's impressive performance and polish.

We believe Ubisoft could better present their games by uploading footage at 4K60 to YouTube. Higher resolution uploads result in better image quality due to increased bitrates, even if the source footage isn't native 4K. Furthermore, when gameplay runs at 30fps, presenting it in a 60fps YouTube container helps preserve the full output from the console and smooth out performance dips, resulting in a more accurate visual representation.

Assassin', Creed Shadows, coming to Switch 2, Scaled-Down Ray Tracing, NoobFeed

First Impressions and Technical Observations

From what we've seen so far, Assassin's Creed Shadows on Switch 2 looks promising. Even without ray tracing, the overall presentation seems well-optimized for the hardware. When comparing interior and exterior scenes, however, we notice distinct compromises. The original RTGI on other consoles created natural, moody lighting in darker areas.

Without it, the Switch 2 version appears overly bright, with specular reflections covering much of the scene, resulting in a glowy, less realistic aesthetic.

Additionally, features like per-object motion blur, improved shadow quality, and advanced fog effects appear to be stripped down or simplified compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series versions. Still, given that we're basing these observations on compressed trailer footage, we expect better clarity in the final release.

Comparing Ubisoft's Track Record

We're optimistic about Ubisoft's ability to deliver strong technical performance on Switch 2. Their work on Star Wars Outlaws demonstrated that demanding, current-generation games can transition effectively to the platform without major compromises. While the developer teams differ—Shadows uses Anvil while Outlaws was built on Snowdrop—the results so far indicate that Ubisoft is pushing hard to make complex worlds playable on the handheld.

Interestingly, earlier rumors were suggesting Assassin's Creed Mirage might arrive on Switch 2. However, with Shadows coming so soon, that now seems unlikely. Mirage would have been a simpler technical challenge, given its iPhone port. Still, Ubisoft appears eager to showcase what the new hardware can really do by going straight for Shadows.

Assassin', Creed Shadows, coming to Switch 2, Scaled-Down Ray Tracing, NoobFeed

Final Thoughts

Analyzing the 30fps YouTube trailer frame by frame, we didn't observe any repeated frames, suggesting consistent performance even in early builds. While the ground textures and some environmental details look less refined, overall, there's still much to appreciate in terms of atmosphere and visual direction.

Ubisoft's approach to porting Switch games so far deserves recognition. These are high-end games from the current generation, and it's astounding that they are being brought to a portable machine. There is a lot of excitement for Assassin's Creed Shadows, which will be out on December 2. We won't be able to fully judge its performance and graphics until the final release. Still, early reviews suggest that it's a technically ambitious and visually interesting adaptation.

Also, check our other Handheld articles below :