NVIDIA may stop the production of its Tegra X1 Mariko system on a chip (SoC), according to a report from Gamereactor.
The site said it was told by an insider that NVIDIA will halt production of the processor in 2021.
If true, this could mark give further legitimacy to the rumoured Nintendo Switch Pro consoles - an upgraded Switch believed to be more powerful than the 2017 console.
Here's the latest on the Switch Pro rumours...
NVIDIA Tegra X1 Mariko replacement
The NVIDIA Tegra X1 Mariko is a custom SoC designed for the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles. The Mariko was a 2019 upgrade to the original X1 SoC found in the base Nintendo Switch consoles.
If NVIDIA is set to halt production of the Mariko - officially called the Tegra X1+ - we could expect the Nintendo to commission a new SoC with an upgraded GPU. With an improved GPU, the Switch Pro could target higher frame rates and resolutions.
Gamereactor said that its source "did not elaborate further" on a potential replacement SoC.
This also brings up questions regarding the future of the base Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles. If NVIDIA ceases production of the SoC, it is unknown if, or how, Nintendo would continue to produce these models.
Latest Switch Pro rumours
Nintendo has yet to confirm the existence of the Switch Pro console, but this has not stopped multiple rumours giving insight on the 'Super Switch'.
While a new SoC may include a better GPU for the Switch, it might not help the Switch Pro's handheld resolution. While the Pro is rumoured to support 4K when docked, utilising NVIDIA's DLSS for improved output, it will allegedly run in 720p when undocked.
However, this does not mean the screen won't look better than with the base model. The latest reports suggest the Switch Pro will feature a 7-inch OLED screen. All that's left now is to wait for Nintendo to reveal the console to the world.
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