For anyone holding out hope that an upgraded Nintendo Switch will be released, disappointment awaits as the newest murmurings about the alleged upgrade state that while it had been in development, plans for it have been canceled. Rumors of a more powerful Switch model have swirled around the internet for years, but nothing ever materialized. Seeing how the hybrid console launched in March 2017, assumptions could be made that if a mid-generation refresh had been planned, they would be trashed in favor of working on the next generation.

Various leaks and rumors teased the possible existence of a Switch Pro, with comments from an Nvidia engineer confirming the Tegra 239's leaked images being extra weight in favor of it being real to some as it had been claimed to be the chip in the Switch Pro. The consensus about the updated system is that it would be a hardware refresh that played Switch games with improved performance and fidelity without being a new generation, like what the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X were to their respective systems.

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A report from Digital Foundtry dissuades holding out hope for its release, claiming that the rumored system did indeed exist at one point, but multiple unnamed developers confirmed with them that it had been canceled. This does align with what Nintendo hinted at regarding new Switch models, meaning the family of Switch consoles will stick to being the base unit, the smaller Switch Lite that removes dock functionality, and the more premium Switch OLED whose main selling point is having an OLED screen along with other more minor upgrades.

nintendo switch oled

One of the most interesting parts of Digital Foundry's discussion is the speculation that Nintendo is worried about going into the next generation of systems. Despite the Switch's being one of the best-selling systems of all time, the failure of systems like the Wii U potentially haunts Nintendo to this day since that launched after the monumental success of the Wii. Should this be true, there could be reason to believe Nintendo might take a more conservative approach to its Switch successor, opting for iterating upon what has worked for them instead of intending to innovate as they have done in the past.

The time for a more powerful Switch may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean the system has lost all steam yet. Some of the year's best games are Switch exclusives, showing it still has a lot to give to anyone who picks one up. While a refresh might have helped many games look and run better, there is no negating the existing success the Switch has had over the 5 years it has been out on the market.

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Source: Digital Foundry (via Nintendo Life)