Pokémon Violet & Écarlate Get a Free Switch 2 Performance Patch—But Is It Enough?

The news that Pokémon Violet & Écarlate are getting a free technical upgrade for the Nintendo Switch 2 instantly caught my attention-and not just as a longtime Pokémon fan. If you followed the rocky launch of Gen 9, you know these games epitomized the “rushed to market, fix it later” approach that’s plagued some big Nintendo releases lately. Now, with this new patch promising 60 fps, better load times, and more Pokémon on screen, we finally get to see what these open-world ambitions look like without performance issues holding everything back. But does it actually change the fundamentals, or is it just a much-needed bandage over some pretty deep wounds?

Pokémon Violet & Écarlate: Free Switch 2 Patch Makes the Tech Right-But Is It Too Late?

• Performance at Last: The games now run at a much smoother and more stable 60 fps, addressing the most glaring complaint from launch.
• Improved World Density: With twice as many Pokémon visible at once, the open world finally feels alive-especially for shiny hunters.
• It’s Just a Visual Upgrade: No new content, quests, or gameplay tweaks—don’t expect a re-imagined experience, just a technically cleaned up one.
• Redemption…or Missed Expectations? For those put off by performance, this is the version we should’ve had in 2022. But it can’t fix deeper design flaws.

Feature	Specification
Publisher	Nintendo / The Pokémon Company
Release Date	Initial: Nov 2022; Switch 2 Patch: June 2024
Genres	JRPG, Open World, Monster Collection
Platforms	Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2

Let’s call it how it is—Pokémon Violet & Écarlate’s launch in 2022 was rough. Fans (myself included) were stoked for an open-world leap, but what we got was a technical mess. Framerate drops made towns feel like stop-motion films, textures looked like leftovers from the 3DS era, and the infamous glitches became running jokes on social media. Reviews skewered performance, and despite millions of copies sold (Pokémon is pretty much critic-proof), it’s clear this wasn’t Game Freak’s proudest moment. Honestly, I dropped off halfway through, frustrated by performance more than disappointed by the ‘kiddie’ narrative or clunky UI.

So, does this free technical patch for Switch 2 finally deliver the game we wanted? First off, the improvements are genuinely real where it counts. The stable 60 fps isn’t just a bullet point—Pokémon battles, wild exploration, even big setpieces finally feel snappy and responsive. Double the Pokémon on screen also shifts how alive Paldea feels, upping immersion and making hunting shinies legitimately more appealing (good news for the “shasse” nerds among us who spent launch week watching empty fields).

Resolution boosts and faster load times don’t rewrite history, but they do fix the things most often cited as game-breaking. It’s the “comfort upgrade” the open world always needed—Pokémon don’t just appear, they populate, and textures are at worst “not ugly” instead of flat-out embarrassing. Still, if you go in hoping for a top-to-bottom overhaul, temper expectations. The story, progression, and core design remain unchanged—this isn’t a “definitive edition” but a technical house cleaning. The world still skews bland in parts, and no amount of frame smoothing fixes undercooked side quests or tropey writing if those bothered you the first time.

I can’t help but think this situation underscores a trend we’re seeing with big Nintendo IP lately: release first, patch after, then try to regain trust. It’s nice that the patch is free—especially when we’ve seen other Switch 2 upgrades come as paid “deluxe” versions (hello, Mario Party and Zelda). Still, I wonder why the Pokémon Company didn’t hold back and launch at this standard from the start. It’s one thing for Pokémon to take baby steps, but the technical gap contrasted sharply with how open-world feels are handled in games like Monster Hunter, Xenoblade, or even older open-world RPGs from smaller teams.

Is It Worth Revisiting for Pokémon Fans?

If you bounced off Violet & Écarlate because of the performance—like I did—there’s finally a rock-solid reason to return. The open world is genuinely more lively and far less frustrating. Trainers devoted to shiny hunting will especially notice more “targets” at a glance, making the grind less of a slog. But if what bothered you was the core design, grind, or overall direction of modern Pokémon, this doesn’t fix any of that. Think of it as the version we deserved in 2022, especially ahead of Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the horizon. It’s the closest thing to closure that this chapter will get.

TL;DR—Polished, Not Redeemed

The Switch 2 patch for Pokémon Violet & Écarlate finally delivers on basic technical promises: smooth framerate, richer world density, and painless load times, all for free. Fans who quit because of bugs or jank get a real reason to return. But if you were hoping for a deeper overhaul, don’t expect miracles; it’s an overdue fix, not a reinvention. Still, for anyone craving open-world Pokémon without choppy distractions, this is finally a play-worthy version—and a small badge of hope that Nintendo’s biggest cash cow might start respecting our patience a little more.