Call of Duty is a franchise that stretches back more than two decades. It’s arguably the most popular shooter series in the history of gaming, shipping hundreds of millions of copies and raking in billions of dollars for its publishers and developers over the years. However, there’s one question that plagues gamers because of its confusing circumstances, and we’re here today to answer it. So, is Call of Duty on Nintendo Switch, and if it isn’t, why not?
For years, Call of Duty has been growing in popularity on PC-based platforms, and for twenty years, it has dominated home console charts with each new release. But what about Nintendo? Is there a Call of Duty Nintendo Switch game, and if not, why hasn’t one ever been developed? Let’s dive into the history of COD on Switch and see what we can uncover.
Is Call of Duty on Nintendo Switch?
Unfortunately, Call of Duty isn’t on Nintendo Switch. Historically, very few Call of Duty games have found their way to a Nintendo console, with the exception of a few spin-off titles landing on Nintendo DS. In fact, the only full Call of Duty releases to make their way to a Nintendo console were Call of Duty Ghosts and Call of Duty Black Ops II. These games both landed on the WiiU console in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Since then, no other Call of Duty game has emerged on a Nintendo platform. It seems bizarre, given that there’s a Call of Duty Mobile product and that Call of Duty Warzone is on every other platform besides a Nintendo console, for example. It’s a sad fact for fans of the epic shooter franchise, but there is simply no COD on Switch.
But will there ever be a Call of Duty Nintendo Switch game?
Will Call of Duty Ever Come to Nintendo?
In March 2023, Activision explained that Call of Duty Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) could be ported to Nintendo Switch with relative ease. It was a promising note for fans that felt starved of a good shooter title on Nintendo’s flagship console, but it was more a passing comment than a promise of things to come.
However, it didn’t end there. On the subject of introducing a COD on Switch, Microsoft penned a 10-year deal with Nintendo, pledging to bring Call of Duty to the Nintendo ecosystem if the acquisition between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft were to be successful. At the time of publishing, this acquisition is still unravelling, and it’s meeting resistance from regulatory bodies that want to oppose the acquisition.
So, if that acquisition is to go ahead, then there’s a fantastic and irrefutable chance that Call of Duty will come to Nintendo Switch. Not only that, but Nintendo is overdue for announcing an all-new platform, so in the near future when that happens, it’ll bolster the chances for Call of Duty to make an appearance on whatever comes next.
Can Switch Run Call of Duty?
In recent years, many top-tier titles have been ported to the Nintendo Switch, such as Outer Worlds, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Dying Light, and many more. For the most part, these ports run relatively well on the Nintendo Switch, but they’re far from perfect.
If Call of Duty were to be ported to Nintendo Switch, we’d see a downscaled, low-res version of what already exists, but there’s no doubt that the hybrid console could handle one of the games in the series. It’d run at a lower frame rate and have weaker textures, shadows, and render distance, but it could work.
Let’s see what the future holds – Call of Duty isn’t dying anytime soon, after all.