Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Switch 2 gets a new update which fixes frame rate complaints

The Switch 2 version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition has received a new patch which lets players choose their frame rate.

Skyrim’s Switch 2 port of the game was ‘shadow-dropped’ in December, promising players an enhanced version of the 2022 Switch release.

The Switch 2 version offers enhanced resolution and faster load times compared to the Switch version, as well as Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, motion controls and amiibo support.

However, shortly after its surprise release players started complaining that the game was locked to 30 frames per second and suffered from a great deal of input lag.

This was remedied in a subsequent patch a couple of weeks after release, which greatly reduced input lag but also unlocked the frame rate in the process, leading to players saying gameplay no longer felt smooth as a result.

Bethesda has now released a patch for the game which adds the ability to choose between 30 and 60 frames per second, thanks to the addition of new Prioritize Visuals and Prioritize Performance options.

The Prioritize Visuals option re-locks the game at 30 frames per second to ensure more stable performance, while the Prioritize Performance option reduces some detail to make the game more frequently reach 60 frames per second.

The new patch also includes a number of other bug, crash and performance fixes, including specific sections where frame rate drops were frequently reported.

As on other systems, the Switch 2 Anniversary Edition of Skyrim includes the base game and its three official expansions Dawnguard, Dragonborn and Hearthfire.

The Anniversary Edition also gives players access to the Creations Club, with extra community-created quests, weapons, armour, spells, dungeons and other additions.

As with the standard and Anniversary Edition Switch versions of the game, the Switch 2 version of Skyrim Anniversary Edition also includes exclusive Nintendo content from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and Champion’s Tunic.

The full patch notes for the update are as follows:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition – Switch 2 version 1.2 update patch notes

Features:

• Added a 60 Hz mode under Display settings that allows players to toggle between “Prioritize Visuals” or “Prioritize Performance”.
• In addition, frame rate has been locked at 30 Hz in “Prioritize Visuals” mode for smoother gameplay.

Crashes and Performance Fixes:

• Fixed a crash that occurred when reading “The Crimson Dirks Vol. 4” book for the “Tilted Scales” quest in German.
• Fixed an audio-related crash.
• Fixed a crash, infinite load, and game freeze that sometimes occurred when rapidly selecting “Load” multiple times in the pause menu.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when the “Transmute Ore” spell was repeatedly cast outside of the Haltered Stream Camp.

Improved FPS performance drops that occurred in the following locations:

• during the Hide and Seek quest in Kynesgrove
• during combat at Secunda’s Kiss
• when discovering the “Drelas’ Cottage” location
• when engaged in combat with a giant at the Talking Stone Camp.

Visuals Issues Fixes:

• Viewing water planes from a distance or within menus caused them to shift up and down.
• Distant aspen trees appeared with a blue tint.
• Transitioning out of caves caused an outline of the entrance to linger during the fade-to-back loading screen.

User Interface Fixes:

• Switching between mouse and controller mode while in dialogue or the Help menu, caused different options to be highlighted.
• Switching between mouse and controller mode while in help menus or user hints, did not dynamically update callout prompts.
• The “Ready/Sheathe” option was missing from the Joy-Con 2 Mouse Controls menu.
• The “Delete” prompt remained grayed-out within the Load menu when swapping between mouse and controller mode.
• Deleting a save in the Save/Load menus reset the highlighted selection to the top of the menu list.
• While in mouse mode, the cursor remained stuck within a smaller section of the screen when changing between docked/undocked modes or interfacing with GameChat.

Controls Fixes:

• The “Eagle Eye” Archery perk remained active after switching between mouse and controller mode.
• Holding down the Right Joystick while reassigning a button caused that button to disappear from the Controls list.
• The Joy-Con 2 controllers provided haptic feedback while in mouse mode.
• Buttons became unresponsive when controls were remapped while moving the Joy-Con 2 controllers in mouse mode.
• Rotating the map in mouse mode was slower and less smooth than in controller mode.

Audio Issue Fix:

• Scrolling SFX continued to play while holding up or down on the Left Joystick or buttons at the top or bottom of the Save/Load menus.

Localization Fixes:

• “Amiibo” appeared as plural in Spanish.

Miscellaneous:

• Added new translations for the features listed above and UI updates.
• Updates were made to the game credits.