Capcom has been responsible for some of the best and most creative games in recent memory, including the formidable Monster Hunter Wilds, which broke records upon releasing. However, while its games are a delight to play, they often struggle when it comes to performance, with the likes of both Dragon's Dogma 2 and the aforementioned Monster Hunter Wilds both suffering on PC and consoles. Naturally, this is a result of increased technical demands and limitations of hardware, but it is nevertheless difficult for players to accept.

These problems are ultimately what lowered Monster Hunter Wilds' review scores, and, perhaps more importantly, have people worried about the future of the Nintendo Switch 2. While seemingly unrelated, Monster Hunter Wilds' performance woes, coupled with the fact that it isn't an isolated incident, means that Nintendo may be far more on the back foot when launching the Switch 2 than it may have initially realized.

Monster Hunter Wilds Has Performance Issues

It Struggles On Both PC & PS5

Monster Hunter Wilds' performance issues are so bad that fans are review-bombing it over on Steam. There's no two ways about it; the fears many had during its beta period that we all attempted to assure ourselves would be fixed were substantiated. It is constantly crashing, stuttering, lagging, and not properly rendering textures, leading to blocky faces and grimy environments. It isn't so much of a mess that the core gameplay - which is incredibly fun - is tarnished, but certainly enough to warrant waiting before spending $70 on it.

Many have questioned why the game's performance is so terrible, especially considering its visuals, while striking, don't stack up to those of its contemporaries. Naturally, there's a lot more going on under the hood than most understand, but there is still no excuse for Capcom to have released Wilds in such a state where even those on powerful rigs are experiencing crashes. All of this is exacerbated by the fact that, despite these performance issues, Wilds is breaking records, at least on PC, raking in an unbelievable number of players in just a few days.

Of course, this problem is worsened on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, where performance continues to struggle, despite the promise of a console version being that it's a more stable and consistent experience. The game's three performance modes on PS5 and Series X give players options, but it looks substantially worse on framerate mode, which itself doesn't guarantee a stable framerate at all times. Similarly, the resolution mode lowers the framerate drastically while not improving the visuals enough to warrant such a sluggish experience.

The Switch 2 Probably Can't Run Monster Hunter Wilds

It Isn't Powerful Enough

All of this brings into question a potential Switch 2 port, as many fans would like to see it as one of the Switch 2's third-party launch titles. It is hard to believe that Nintendo's new hardware would be able to run a game that can barely run on high-end PCs and struggles to maintain a stable framerate even on the PS5 and Series X's dedicated framerate mode. Well, based on the information that we have, there's a reason it seems so impossible.

The leaked Switch 2 specs have claimed that it will be about as powerful as a PS4 Pro, or a Steam Deck for a more apt comparison. That's not particularly powerful, especially when considering that Monster Hunter Wilds is almost unplayable on the Steam Deck, even at its absolute lowest settings. It can barely run on the single dedicated performance mode on Series S, so it's hardly surprising to hear that on less powerful hardware it struggles.

If the leaked specs are accurate, then it is highly unlikely that Capcom will bother investing resources into porting Wilds to the Nintendo Switch, even if there is a great demand for it, as it's unlikely to run at all without significant sacrifices being made. That puts Nintendo's new hardware in a strange and extremely nuanced position, as it is, out of the gate, not competitively powerful enough to warrant ports of current 2025 games, nor is it novel enough that developers feel like they need to create unique Switch-focused experiences like Capcom did with Monster Hunter Rise.

The Switch 2 Could Be Obsolete The Day It Launches

If It Can't Run Games Coming Out Now, What's The Point?

In theory, this means that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be obsolete the day it launches. In just a few years, handheld PCs will have, at least partially, caught up with the current generation, and both Xbox and PlayStation will likely have their own handhelds that can compete with the next-gen hardware. Nintendo is starting on the back foot, as Valve, Asus, Lenovo, and more are likely already working on successors to their current hardware, which were already more powerful than the Switch. Simply put, Nintendo has been, and continues to, fight an uphill battle.

Due to the prevalence of handheld PCs more powerful than the Switch 2 giving people the ability to play contemporary AAA titles out of the box, developers may not feel the need to make games directly for Nintendo's new hardware. While many may claim that Nintendo's own IP will be enough to carry the Switch 2 to success - and they will likely generate a significant portion of its sales - one cannot deny just how impactful third-party games were on the relevance of both the Switch specifically and Nintendo's past consoles.

The Switch's aptly named "miracle ports" were a huge selling point, as, at least until the 2020s, there was no way of playing the likes of The Witcher 3 handheld. However, without them, the Switch 2 could struggle. Of course, handheld PC sales for just a fraction of Switch sales - according to a Variety interview with research firm IDC, there have only been 6 million handheld PC sales compared to the Switch's staggering 151 million - but the fact that Nintendo's hardware is once again less powerful than its competition could push people to pick up a Steam Deck 2.

As technological advancements continue to improve, it is only a matter of time before the performance requirements of all AAA games eclipse what the Switch 2 is capable of, causing fans to clamor for a Switch 2 Pro.

ittedly, there is also the argument that Monster Hunter Wilds' performance woes are the exception and not the rule. Most AAA games are released in a fairly stable state and are playable on less powerful hardware. However, as technological advancements continue to improve, it is only a matter of time before the performance requirements of all AAA games eclipse what the Switch 2 is capable of, causing fans to clamor for a Switch 2 Pro. One can only hope that it isn't too long before it isn't just Monster Hunter Wilds that the Switch 2 can't run.

Source: Monster Hunter Wilds/Steam, Steam Deck in Hand/YouTube, Variety