Summary
- A Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition fan has spotted that the game has launched with an executable for a hidden 60fps mode.
- Unfortunately, it’s uselss on its own, as enabling the mode causes performance issues.
- However, this is almost certainly a sign that Monolith Soft has Nintendo Switch 2 enhancements waiting in the wings, so it may be worth holding off until playing.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launched earlier today, finally bringing the game’s stint in Wii U purgatory to an end. It launched with a bunch of improvements to the base game (wouldn’t be much of a definitive edition if it didn’t), but one thing that it didn’t launch with, much to the surprise of many, was an option to run the game at 60fps.
We all know that Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft loves to push Nintendo’s hardware to its absolute maximum. Xenoblade games are often the best-looking games on their respective systems, so it’s a little surprising that there is no 60fps mode on the Nintendo Switch, given the slight boost in power over the Wii U.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition May Have Switch 2 Enhancements Ready To Go
Turns out, Monolith Soft may have actually been putting its efforts into making sure Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition runs at 60fps on the Nintendo Switch 2. First spotted by Twitter user MasaGratoR (thanks Wccftech), it appears as though the game launched with an executable for a hidden 60fps mode, which has only been partially implemented.
Related
Xenoblade Chronicles X Is Yet Another Game Begging For Nintendo Switch 2
I’m incredibly impressed with this long awaited port, but the original Switch holds it back.
Enabling the mode apparently causes a bunch of issues, such as gameplay rendering every second frame, as well as jittering objects. It has almost no purpose right now, but MasaGratoR believes that this is something that could be used in the future to add Nintendo Switch 2 enhancements if Monolith Soft decides to upgrade the game for the system.
Given what we know about Monolith Soft, it would be very surprising if it didn’t use a new Nintendo console’s hardware to its advantage, especially since we now know that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. If you’re planning on picking the game up soon, you may want to hold off until Switch 2 enhancements are confirmed. I’d suggest just getting it now and playing it a second time if it is upgraded, but two playthroughs of a Xenoblade Chronicles game is about 3,000 hours.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Monolith Soft
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo