In a recent letter penned to a UK regulator, Microsoft highlighted several key points in the ongoing debate circulating around the firm’s impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It was explained, quite clearly, that Warzone, Modern Warfare II, and ‘future native console versions’ of Call of Duty could be ported to Switch in a ‘timely manner’.
This claim was expanded on by way of a quote handed down by Bobby Kotick himself, who suggested that Warzone and Modern Warfare II could be ported to Switch in a matter of months. This news comes shortly after Microsoft pledged that, should its acquisition be successful, it’ll bring Call of Duty titles to Nintendo platforms for ‘at least’ ten years.
Ready and Raring To Go
In the expansive, thirty-three-page letter penned to the UK regulatory body, Microsoft explained how easy it would (theoretically) be to bring current Call of Duty titles to Nintendo Switch, focusing particularly on Call of Duty Warzone.
It was stated:
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.
This notion was expanded on with a statement claiming that the ‘Activision development team have a long history of optimizing game performance for available hardware capabilities’. There’s apparently a certain confidence sitting behind closed doors that believes all future Call of duty titles could be tweaked to run on the Nintendo Switch.
But, by way of comparison, Microsoft drew upon titles in a similar position on the platform, like Apex Legends and Fortnite. Unfortunately, while these ports are functional, they’re by no means fully optimised on the Nintendo Switch, boasting lower peak frame rates and some performance issues. This concept was explored by VGC in a recent article.
In a closing statement on that portion of the letter, Microsoft stated quite directly that the ‘benefits will be substantial’. It was explained that, if Warzone, MWII, and future Call of Duty titles were ported to Switch, it would increase the pool of players available to play, boost cross-play functionality, and give more value to the Nintendo platforms themselves.
This isn’t an indicator that these games are coming to Nintendo Switch anytime soon, but it’s an indication of Microsoft’s intention to make good on its pledge in the future.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the newly announced release date for Starfield.
