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In this article, we’ll delve into the latest developments regarding Microsoft’s plans to bring Call of Duty games to the Nintendo Switch.
Key Takeaways:
- Microsoft plans to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo Switch with complete features and content parity, and on the same day of release as Xbox, if its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is approved.
- According to Microsoft, the Warzone game engine has been improved to work on a variety of hardware devices, including the Nintendo Switch. Microsoft also believes that Activision has a history of improving game performance to match hardware capabilities.
- Although the Switch is less powerful than other consoles and PCs, Microsoft is confident that Call of Duty games will still be playable on the Switch, even if they do not look as good.
- According to Microsoft, they will create and release native console versions of Call of Duty games for Nintendo platforms for a minimum of 10 years. The company has decided not to use the cloud version approach.
- Sony is opposed to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with concerns that Call of Duty for PlayStation could be sabotaged. Sony has not agreed to Microsoft’s 10-year deal for Call of Duty.
- These discussions between Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and Sony have been ongoing for over a year.
In the previous month, Microsoft agreed to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo players with complete features and content, and on the same day of release as Xbox, if the proposed purchase of Activision Blizzard is approved.
Microsoft also shared how it plans to achieve this in a recent filing submitted to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Optimizing Call of Duty: Warzone to Run on the Switch
Microsoft thinks that Call of Duty: Warzone’s engine has been optimized to run on many hardware devices, like the Xbox One from 2015 and PC GPUs from 2015, which is before the Switch was launched in 2017.
Microsoft believes that Activision has a long history of making game performance better for hardware capabilities.
Microsoft is confident that the same techniques that work for games like Apex Legends, Doom Eternal, and Fortnite could also work for Call of Duty games on the Switch.
Playable but Not as Good as on Other Platforms
It is important to note that the Switch is not as powerful as the Xbox One or other newer consoles and PCs.
However, Microsoft is confident that Call of Duty games will still be playable on the Switch, even if they do not look as good as they do on the Xbox Series X.
If you have ever played Fortnite on Switch, you would know that it does not look as good as it does on other platforms, but it still plays fine.
Call of Duty Games Can Have a Home on the Switch
In the filing, Microsoft made it clear that it believes Call of Duty games, including both the free-to-play Warzone and premium releases, can have a home on the Switch.
According to Microsoft, the development team of Activision has been improving game performance for available hardware capabilities for a long time.
Microsoft believes that, in addition to Warzone, buy-to-play titles like Modern Warfare II can be optimized to run on the Nintendo Switch using standard techniques that have been used to bring games like Apex Legends, Doom Eternal, Fortnite, and Crysis 3 to the Switch.
No Cloud Version Approach
It appears that Microsoft is not looking to take the cloud version approach when it comes to releasing Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms.
The company stated that the agreement means “Microsoft will develop and publish future native console versions of CoD titles for Nintendo platforms for at least 10 years.”
This is good news for Nintendo Switch users who have been eagerly waiting for Call of Duty games to be available on their platform.
It’s important to mention that Sony is against Microsoft’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard. Sony is worried that Microsoft might harm Call of Duty for PlayStation.
Although Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal for Call of Duty, Sony hasn’t agreed to it.
These discussions between Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and Sony have been going on for more than a year.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Microsoft is confident that it can bring Call of Duty games to the Nintendo Switch with full feature and content parity if its acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through.
According to the company, the Warzone game engine has been optimized to work on various hardware devices, and Activision has a track record of improving game performance to suit the hardware’s capabilities.
The agreement means that Microsoft will develop and publish future native console versions of Call of Duty titles for Nintendo platforms for at least 10 years.
This is great news for Nintendo Switch users who have been waiting
