Seven years into its lifecycle, the Nintendo Switch has been out on the market for as long as the PlayStation 4 was when the PlayStation 5 came out. By that time, the PS4 was starting to slow down and fans couldn't wait to upgrade.
Naturally, gamers are wondering if Nintendo has similar plans now that the Switch is getting up there in age. But, as it turns out, the Switch might be here for a little while longer. At least, long enough for Microsoft to believe that it can get last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 running on the hybrid gaming console.
Microsoft's recent filing that it submitted to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority doubled down on what it previously said about running Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles.
But, unlike its previous statement, Microsoft specifically named the Switch this time around, saying:
The game engine that powers Warzone is mature and has been optimized to run on a wide range of hardware devices (ranging from the Xbox One console released in 2015 up to the Xbox Series X). Warzone supports PC hardware with GPU cards that were released as far back as 2015 (i.e., prior to the release of Nintendo Switch in 2017).
Microsoft is adding that the "Activision development team has a long history of optimizing game performance for available hardware capabilities.
So, if we're understanding this correctly, Microsoft will try to port Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 to the Nintendo Switch later this year, provided its purchase of Activision Blizzard pushes through.
Given that next year's Call of Duty game (not the Modern Warfare 2 pseudo-sequel by Sledgehammer Games that's coming out later this year) will likely still support last-gen consoles, we can only assume that the Switch is part of its plans as well.
As of the moment, Activision Blizzard hasn't confirmed a release date for a Call of Duty game on the Switch or any gaming platform it may or may not be working on. It's highly unlikely that we'll get an announcement before the deal is final.
But, we do know that Call of Duty is coming to a Nintendo console, it's just a matter of when. The better question would be if Microsoft can put its money where its mouth is and make the game run well on the third-best-selling video game console of all time.
Keep in mind that Warzone 2 struggles to maintain 60FPS on last-gen consoles, so 30FPS on even the lowest settings will be nothing short of a miracle on the Nintendo Switch.
On the other hand, Sony continues to oppose the buyout. This is despite constant reassurance from Microsoft that it makes "zero business sense" to make Call of Duty exclusive, and on top of the 10-year extension Microsoft offered to Sony after signing a similar agreement with Nintendo.
