Agent 47's Secret Fitness Regime: Hitman's Switch 2 Performance Boost is Bonkers!
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Digital Foundry discovered that Hitman: World of Assassination on Switch 2 has a secret "performance mode" tied to the console's resolution settings, leading to massive frame rate gains. It's like Agent 47 found a cheat code, but the code is hidden in the Switch's menu!
Right, so, the wizards over at Digital Foundry (big shoutout to them for digging this up!) have unearthed something rather peculiar with Hitman: World of Assassination on the Switch 2. Turns out, how you've got your Switch 2's display settings tweaked *directly* impacts the game's frame rate. Mad, innit?
Specifically, if you're running the console at 720p, you can see frame-rate jumps of up to a whopping 62%! No, I'm not pulling your leg. 62.5 percent, to be precise. I know, I know, dropping to 720p sounds like a visual downgrade of epic proportions, but hear me out.
The kicker is that this 'performance mode' isn't even mentioned *anywhere* in the game's menus. It's like Io Interactive hid a secret button combo that unlocks superhuman reflexes for Agent 47... except the combo is buried in the Switch 2's system settings.
Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter, bless his cotton socks, got tipped off about this by a reader and decided to put it to the test. He ran through levels like Paris, Mumbai, Berlin, and Whittleton Creek – some GPU-heavy, some CPU-heavy – at 720p, 1080p, and 4K (as dictated by the Switch 2's front-end, remember). The results? Bonkers, as I mentioned earlier.
Whittleton Creek, for example, saw an average frame rate of 46.88fps at 4K. Switch it to 1080p, and you get a slight bump to 40.45fps. But crank it down to 720p, and BAM! You're hitting a silky-smooth 59.93fps. That's a massive difference. The lads at Digital Foundry reckon that the game might be using something like DLSS to upscale the image, which adds extra computing time. This would explain the performance difference.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Jeff, 720p in 2025? Bloody hell, that sounds rough!" And you're not wrong. But consider this: for competitive players who prioritize responsiveness above all else, this could be a game-changer. Plus, it might be a good option if you're on the go and the console is having to preserve its battery life. This really seems to be the reason for the frame-rate boosts we're seeing.
Speaking of resolutions, Digital Foundry's poking around revealed something even stranger. When the Switch 2 is set to 1080p, the game doesn't actually render at 1080p! Pixel counts suggest it's closer to 1152p or 1188p. And when it's set to 4K, those pixel counts *stay the same*. So, what's going on with the upscaling here?
Honestly, this whole situation feels a bit... unintentional. You'd expect a proper "performance mode" to be an in-game option, not something buried in the system settings. It's like finding a secret level by accidentally clipping through a wall. Still, for Switch 2 owners itching for the smoothest possible Hitman experience, this is definitely worth experimenting with. Just don't blame me if Agent 47 suddenly looks like he's rocking a retro pixel-art makeover, eh?
Eurogamer reported on this, so do be sure to check out their full report.
Tags: Hitman, Switch 2, Performance, Digital Foundry, Frame Rate
Original article: Eurogamer