Latest news with #CDProjektRED
Daily Mirror
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
The 10 best Nintendo Switch 2 games to play right now
If you're unsure about which Nintendo Switch 2 launch games to play first on your shiny new hybrid console, these are the top titles judging by what we've played so far. A comprehensive rundown of all the Nintendo Switch 2 launch games we would recommend you check out first. It's been just over a week since the Nintendo Switch 2 launched to the masses, and despite the improvements in hardware capability and increased ease of use, it'd be fair to say that the new console's launch lineup isn't exactly expansive. That said, this doesn't mean there aren't plenty of new(ish) titles or native revamps of existing titles currently available to play on Nintendo Switch 2 – in fact, some of the titles available act as the definitive version. We've not been able to stop putting the console through its paces and so have put together a top 10 list of best Nintendo Switch 2 games you can play right now. From super stylised futuristic racers that do well to make your high-speed fantasies come true to an underrated tower defence/real-time action hybrid set to reward your strategic chops, the following is a list of Nintendo Switch 2 games that prove there's a bright future for Nintendo 's sequel console. Here's the 10 best native Nintendo Switch 2 we'd recommend you check out! Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition A game infamous for not being able to run on PS4 and Xbox One at launch, CD Projekt RED previously did great work with its 'impossible' port of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for the original Nintendo Switch. That's why it's not surprising to see a fairly decent – and totally playable – rendition of Cyberpunk 2077 come to Nintendo Switch 2 on day one. Though not the most graphically impressive version, Night City as a location still appears beautiful when played in either docked mode or in handheld on the Switch 2's impressive LCD screen. Better yet, this version also includes the fantastic Phantom Liberty DLC, making Cyberpunk 2077 the full package on Nintendo Switch 2. You can check out our Cyberpunk 2077 performance test on Nintendo Switch 2 over on our YouTube channel for a more in-depth look. Yakuza 0: Director's Cut Yes, this is an enhanced version of a 10-year-old game, but Yakuza 0 also just so happens to be one of the best entries in the long-running series, and coincidentally the best way to jump on board. Being a prequel that documents the early escapades of Kiryu and Majima within an 80s version of Kamurocho, this new Director's Cut is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 (for the time being) and introduces a tonne of improvements such as additional story content and the new Red Light Raid multiplayer mode. Even without these enhancements, though, seeing Yakuza 0's melodramatic events and arcade-centric antics run at 60fps on Switch 2 in handheld mode feels like a dream. This is easily now the definitive version. Survival Kids More than just the obligatory children's game to go in tandem with a new console's launch, Survival Kids is a cheery and wholesome co-op adventure that also serves as a great entry point to the survival/crafting genre. Shifting giant logs, chopping wood, and using neat makeshift gadgets with friends is a recipe for calm and chaos in equal measure, it turns out, though it's also a routine that whips along breezily thanks to each of the game's bite-sized island levels. It won't change your life but if you're a player wanting to enjoy wholesome crafting with the family, Survival Kids delivers. Street Fighter 6 It used to be the case that if you were a fighting game on Nintendo Switch not called Super Smash Bros Ultimate, you were forever maligned by genre fans as the worst ways to play – compared to other consoles. Capcom, however, has clearly relished the challenged to bring the latest entry in its beloved Street Fighter series to Nintendo's hybrid successor, and the result is a surprisingly complete and smooth-feeling way to throw down with the likes of Ryu, M. Bison, and others. It helps that Street Fighter 6 's awesome campaign mode returns in full force, supplementing arguably the best 3D fighting game currently available to compete in. Mario Kart World The first original Mario Kart entry in over 10 years doesn't quite manage to cross the finish line with flying colours, yet it's still a great way to break in your Nintendo Switch 2 at launch. New driving mechanics such as the Charge Jump and grindable surfaces bring additional layers of strategy to the act of karting, while Knockout Tour mode makes trying to survive a 24-person race genuinely thrilling. Sadly, the actual 'world' of the package doesn't deliver as much as you'd hope, but there are other ways Mario Kart World's sheer interconnectedness bears fruit. Mario Kart World is the same colourful racing action you know, now brought to life using a fresh coast of creative paint. Split Fiction When it comes to high-budget action-adventures based around co-op, it's hard to imagine a better launch companion for the Nintendo Switch 2 than Split Fiction. Already a great two-player title that released earlier this year on PS5, Xbox Series X |S, and PC, the story of these two writers who get pulled into each other's sci-fi and fantasy worlds is instantly enjoyable when breaking of a Joy-Con and jumping in with a friend locally. It's a pretty good showcase of the graphical intensity the new device can handle, too, as its hard to imagine Split Fiction's frankly absurd and flashy delights running on original Switch. Split Fiction is a game every Nintendo fan deserves to play, and now they can! Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Though it would have been easy to pay respect to the equally as brilliant Switch 2 version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on this list, it's 2023's sequel, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, that fully comes to life on the new console thanks to a smooth 60fps framerate and far higher resolution. Honestly, being able to use abilities such as Fuse and Ultrahand without any stuttering or slowdown at all gives this more open iteration of Hyrule new lease of life, making it much easier to enjoy one of the greatest Nintendo games ever made. Picking it up as a standalone on Switch 2 is a tough ask due to price, but it's a no-brainer for players subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online or existing owners looking to upgrade. Fast Fusion Developer Shin'en Multimedia makes its trademark early debut on a Nintendo console with yet another stylish and sleek anti-gravity racer – this time with the ability to fuse racing vehicles together. Fast Fusion feels like the best iteration yet, however, since the Nintendo Switch 2's 60fps capability in both split-screen and handheld mode does true justice to the franchise's high-speed racing antics. Combine this with another healthy selection of inventive tracks that spans deserts, cityscapes, and more (alongside a pulsing soundtrack) and Fast Fusion is a great futuristic alternative to Mario Kart. Hitman: World of Assassination - Signature Edition Having already tried to bring its beloved Hitman series to Nintendo audiences previously via ill-judged cloud versions, Agent 47's violent escapades are finally done justice in Hitman: World of Assassination – Signature Edition on Nintendo Switch 2. This complete version bundles together almost all the missions and contracts from the entire World of Assassination trilogy, plus the new 007: First Light crossover event that sees Casino Royale's Le Chiffre available to take down for a limited time. It's not the most handsome way to play on the big screen, but being able to choke, snipe, and hide enemies in a series of inventive sandbox levels in handheld is a sheer delight. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess One of 2024's most overlooked and underrated games gets a fresh start on Nintendo Switch 2 in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, a different kind of fantasy RPG from Capcom that mixes real-time action with tower defence elements. You play as an ancient warrior tasked with protecting a princess, taking on waves and waves of grotesque monsters trying to reach her by performing exciting melee combos and also controlling the battlefield by managing and assigning roles to troops. All this gels wonderfully in both the main campaign and the totally new survival-based Otherworldly Venture mode. Don't sleep on Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess on the Nintendo Switch 2. Special mention: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet first launched on the original Nintendo Switch it was hard to ignore its technical flaws. A poor framerate, unfathomable environmental pop-in, and a poor draw distance all combined to make this latest generation of mainline Pokemon hard to enjoy. Fast forward to the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, however, and this souped-up version almost feels like playing an all-new game. Now running at 60fps with a clearer resolution, the colourful, widely open region of Paldea is a lot easier to get lost in. It's not exactly a Nintendo Switch 2 game proper, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's dedicated patch makes jumping back in an easy recommend.
Geek Culture
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
'Cyberpunk 2077' On MacBook Pro M4 Max Shown At Apple WWDC On Ultra Settings At 120fps
Apple has shown off the gaming prowess of the MacBook Pro M4 Max at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025, by providing a first look at CD Projekt RED's RPG Cyberpunk 2077 running on the system with ultra settings, and at 120fps. @geekculture At WWDC 2025, Apple and CD Projekt RED showed off Cyberpunk 2077 running natively on the MacBook Pro M4 Max! CD Projekt RED's Paweł Sasko takes us through how the team used Apple's suite of technologies to run the game on Ultra at a smooth 120fps. #Apple #WWDC2025 #MacBookProM4Max #CDProjektRED #CyberPunk2077 ♬ original sound – Geek Culture Featuring a snippet of live gameplay taken while exploring Dogtown's EBM Petrochem Stadium in the game's Phantom Liberty expansion, CD Projekt RED provided a sneak peek into some of the technologies used to achieve its performance milestone on Apple's platform. The complete Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game, the Phantom Liberty expansion, Update 2.0 with all its content, as well as any free DLCs, is slated to go on sale on the Mac App Store, Steam and Epic Games Store. According to the developers, the game is able to hit such high framerates at ultra settings due to two factors: Apple's MetalFX upscaler integration and optimisation of the game's REDengine framework. Robert 'Radek' Malinowski, Global Communication Director (left), Paweł Sasko, Associate Game Director (right) 'When it comes to the REDengine, it's a very scalable technology, and we always try to squeeze out as much performance as we can, no matter the platform, be it Apple devices, the Nintendo Switch or PC and consoles,' explained Paweł Sasko, Associate Game Director at CD Projekt RED. To achieve maximum performance, the CD Projekt team worked closely with Apple on the utilisation of its MetalFX upscaling to deliver higher definition images from a lower definition source, and MetalFX frame interpolation, which generates in-between frames for smoother, more fluid motion. Additionally, optimisation methods were implemented like FP16, or 16-bit Floating Point, which uses 16 bits instead of 32 bits to relieve the load on the system's CPU, pushing out more performance with minimal detriment to image quality. Today my chooms at Apple Park we're showing Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition to international press and content creators — running on a MacBook Pro with the M4 Max chip, hitting 120 FPS on Ultra settings. Coming in 2025! 🥰🍎 — Paweł Sasko (@PaweSasko) June 10, 2025 The brief section of gameplay did highlight some impressive shaders on display, courtesy of Apple's Metal shader converter, providing not only crisp visuals but also realistic interactions between projected lights and objects in the environment. In a 12-minute demo, Sasko used a controller to navigate the game, previewed interactions with in-game characters, including the cameo appearances by the developer's co-founders, Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński, character movements and more importantly, the lighting and shadows generated within the game, to make the sharp visuals and complex colours stand out. Framerate-wise, the game seemed smooth for the most part, apart from noticeable dips in certain sections when panning the camera. It's also to be noted that the team claimed that the game was able to hit 120fps in that particular scene, so it remains to be seen if the game can maintain those figures in more complex scenes like combat, or open world traversal when Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition launches on the Mac App Store sometime in 2025. For more on WWDC 2025, check out our coverage on Apple iOS 26's enhanced UI with Liquid Glass and intelligent features, and the 10 Apple Unified OS 26 features we can't wait to see and use. Sherwin once held the Matrix of Leadership, but wisely passed it on to the rightful leader of the household. Apple Cyberpunk 2077 MacBook Pro M4 Max WWDC 2025
Forbes
05-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Ciri Looks Like Her Old Self In New ‘The Witcher 4' Tech Demo
The Witcher 4 When the first trailer for CD Projekt RED's upcoming The Witcher 4 came out, a lot of fans expressed concerns about Ciri becoming the game's protagonist. Some of this was lore-based, with fans questioning how Ciri could become a full-blown Witcher given her Elder blood. Others thought the character model just looked off. I was among these – not because this new version of Ciri was 'ugly' but because she looked nothing whatsoever like Ciri from The Witcher 3, which was kind of strange. She didn't look like an older version of the character, either, as some people claimed. She looked like a different character altogether. Unrecognizable. (And not because she looked more like her voice actor, either, which she does not in either version). In the developer's new tech demo, major changes to Ciri's facial structure reveal a return to a character who looks much more similar to the model in The Witcher 3. She looks a bit older, which makes sense, but there's no denying the resemblance. I bring this up because I think it shows CDPR is willing to make adjustments based on fan feedback, which is a good thing. I'm also incredibly impressed with the new voice actor, Ciara Berkeley, who does a great job playing a somewhat older Ciri. She takes over for the excellent Jo Wyatt. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder The tech demo itself looks fantastic, but it's important that this is a demo – not actual gameplay from the final game. Just a slice carved off to show the world, polished and primed. It certainly shows off what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of, and frankly if the final product looks even remotely close to this good, I'll be deeply impressed. If it manages to run at 4k / 60fps on modern consoles, I'll do a happy dance (though I'll be playing on PC, naturally). But I remain skeptical, not just because CDPR has certainly let us down in the past (thank you Cyberpunk 2077 launch!) but because I've been doing this for a long time, and I've seen countless tech demos that look far, far better than the final product. They promise the world and then deliver . . . less. But hey, I'd happily be wrong on this count. The game doesn't just look amazing, it has such enormous attention to detail, like the musculature of Ciri's horse, Kelpie, and the thick, living forests using 'nanite foliage' technology. It certainly looks better than those crazy trees in The Witcher 3. The good news is that Epic Games is working closely with CDPR on this game, which should translate into the most efficient and accurate use of Unreal Engine 5 possible. The reactive nature of the NPCs in the market is incredibly impressive, and I wonder if some of Epic's progress with AI in Fortnite will carry over into The Witcher 4. Whatever the case, watching this tech demo makes me want to live in this world. I suspect that when the game finally comes out, I will do just that. If you're looking for more Witcher content in the meantime, I've really been enjoying Viva La Dirt League's Witcher sketches, which are in many ways better than Netflix's series.
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Business Standard
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
State of Unreal 2025: The Witcher 4 previewed with Unreal Engine 5 graphics
Polish game developer CD Projekt RED has offered the first look at the gameplay of its upcoming title The Witcher 4 during the State of Unreal 2025 event. While the company clarified that the presentation wasn't actual gameplay footage, the technical demo provides a strong glimpse into the visual fidelity and systems the studio is building with Unreal Engine 5. On its official website, CD Projekt RED said: 'The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo, presented at the State of Unreal 2025, dives into some of the innovative technology and features that will help bring the game's open world to life. Taking place in the never-before-seen region of Kovir, the tech demo is a first look at the cutting-edge technology powering The Witcher 4.' Captured on a PlayStation 5 running at 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled, the demo showcases a 'standalone' demo built specifically to highlight the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5. For the uninitiated, Unreal Engine is a 3D creation tool developed by Epic Games that is primarily used for game development. Key highlights from The Witcher 4 demo: Seamless cinematic-to-gameplay transition The demo begins with a cinematic sequence showing a carriage being attacked by a winged creature. The action then shifts seamlessly to Ciri — confirmed as the main protagonist — as she investigates the scene in the new region of Kovir. The transition between cinematic and gameplay elements is smooth, offering a glimpse of the game's visual consistency and narrative immersion. CD Projekt RED also confirmed Kovir will be a playable region in The Witcher 4. Although the developer clarified that it's not actual gameplay footage, the seamless transition between cinematic and gameplay elements is still quite impressive. New Physics and realism The presentation demonstrated the enhanced power of Unreal Engine 5, particularly in environmental detail and character movement. One standout moment featured Ciri riding her horse Kelpie through the wilderness, with close attention paid to muscle flexing during each stride. The foliage and terrain were brought to life using Nanite Foliage — a feature in UE5 that enables developers to populate worlds with highly detailed, full-geometry grass, trees, and plants. The demo also showcased dynamic NPC (non-playable character) interactions. In one scene, Ciri bumps into a fruit vendor in a crowded market, spilling his crate of apples. A nearby NPC then rushes over to help pick them up. CD Projekt RED noted that such incidental reactions will be a part of the game world, increasing realism and immersion. Launch timeline Despite showing significant development progress, The Witcher 4 isn't expected to launch before 2026. In fact, a delay to 2027 remains likely. At a previous earnings call, CD Projekt RED CFO Piotr Nielubowicz stated: 'All we could share for now, to give more visibility to investors, is that the game will not be launched within the timeframe of the first target for the incentive programme, which ends 31st of December 2026.' Ciri taking on the role of protagonist was first confirmed in the game's reveal trailer during The Game Awards 2024, marking a new chapter in the franchise after the Geralt-led trilogy.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
7 takeaways from the Witcher 4 UE 5.6 Tech Demo
Image via: CD Projekt RED During Epic Games' State of Unreal 2025 keynote, CD Projekt Red unveiled a jaw-dropping technical demo of The Witcher 4-not a chunk of the game itself but rather an imposing series of visuals and technical showcases for Unreal Engine 5.6. It may take years before the fully operational game sets foot on U.S. soil, but what we have witnessed are glimpses at the future of open-world RPGs. Here are seven takeaways from the presentation that may change the fantasy worlds that players are accustomed to. 1. Ciri Takes Center Stage For the first time, Ciri is featured as the main protagonist. Set years after the events of The Witcher 3, she is a witcher now seasoned in riding the snowy peaks of Kovir, a fresh region added to the franchise. This shift means taking a new narrative perspective towards this trilogy focusing on her unusual powers and unexplored past. The Witcher 4 - UE 5.6 Tech Demo | State of Unreal 2025 2. Transitions Are Smooth Between Cinematic and Gameplay One feature stood out: no smooth handoff between pre-rendered cinematic and real-time gameplay. The lingering creature ambush morphed into a controlled exploration by the player without a single cut. That dynamic interaction goes down as more than mere technical exposure-it gives away on the standards for immersion in The Witcher 4, blurring the difference between storyline and action. 3. Muscles, Motion, and the Horse That Stole the Show Kelpi is beyond just a mode of transport. It is an engineering marvel. The demo displayed musculature detail in motion through advanced skeletal simulation offered by UE 5.6. Such realism was not merely skin-deep; 4. Valdrest: A World Alive With Its Own Philosophy When Ciri reaches the bustling town of Valdrest, the world had better respond to such things on a much larger scale. The NPCs react dynamically, not just to Ciri, but to one another too-a villager dropping food caused a cascade of reactions among the townsfolk. Epic has indicated this was a scene with over 300 skeletal mesh agents being simulated at once, without any performance drop on a standard PlayStation 5. The Witcher 4 — Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo 5. Real-Time Streaming of the World, No Compromises Unreal Engine's Fast Geometry Streaming Plugin facilitated seamless exploration with Ciri freely moving between open mountain roads, narrow alleys, and lively markets, without any loading screens or pop-in. Hence, we have large uninterrupted worlds not as some next-gen promise but something present in the reality. 6. Ray-Traced Beauty at 60 FPS on Console A very worthy technical feat for the demo to be running at 60 frames per second with ray tracing on a base PS5. This means that Witcher 4 will not be reserved for future consoles. It will instead become a cross-generational premium experience much like Cyberpunk 2077. Did the Witcher 4 Devs just fix UE5? The Witcher 4 "Gameplay" Tech Demo Unreal Engine 5.6 Analysis 7. A Glimpse into CDPR and Epic's Long-Term Vision This demo was as much about Epic's engine as it was about The Witcher. Both companies emphasized this was a testbed for new tools co-developed to support sprawling, reactive open worlds. The implications go far beyond one game—the technologies on display are building blocks for the next decade of RPG development. While The Witcher 4 remains on the horizon, the UE 5.6 tech demo offers a compelling preview of what's to come. Everyone is waiting for the saga to get released soon.
