As part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft has committed to bringing CoD to Nintendo devices over a 10-year period. According to Activision and Microsoft, their development teams have a long history of optimizing game performance for available hardware capabilities. They used Warzone as an example, which currently supports graphics cards from 2015, whereas the Nintendo Switch was released in 2017.
CoD Optimization for the Switch
Activision and Microsoft are confident that they can optimize CoD for the Switch by employing the same techniques that were used to bring Apex Legends, DOOM Eternal, Fortnite, and Crysis 3 to the Switch. The engine powering Warzone is also said to be adaptable enough to support the Switch.
There has been no official word on which CoD games will be released on the Switch. Gamers are unlikely to find out until the acquisition agreement is finalized.
Sony’s reservations about Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard
Sony is concerned that if Activision Blizzard is acquired, Microsoft will sabotage PlayStation versions of Call of Duty. Sony has submitted documentation to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority stating that Microsoft could take a number of steps to make the Call of Duty franchise unappealing to play on PlayStation, such as raising the price of the games, prioritizing development of the Xbox version, or releasing a buggy build of the games on PlayStation.
Sony claims that if the merger goes through, Microsoft will have an incentive to let Call of Duty fail on PlayStation while also receiving a higher revenue share for its content than if Activision was an independent entity. Furthermore, Sony claims that there is no way for it or the CMA to monitor the quality of Call of Duty to ensure that Microsoft’s development resources are allocated fairly to the PlayStation version.
Xbox’s dedication to Call of Duty
Since the announcement of the Activision Blizzard merger, Call of Duty has been a key battleground between PlayStation and Xbox. Xbox initially offered PlayStation a three-month contract extension, but PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan called the offer “inadequate.” Call of Duty will continue to be available on Xbox consoles as long as PlayStation exists, according to Phil Spencer.
Microsoft’s dedication to Call of Duty on various platforms
Microsoft recently signed a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo devices with full feature parity on the same day as Xbox, as well as another 10-year deal to bring its PC games to Nvidia’s GeForce Now. It’s unclear whether these actions will be enough to get the deal through, but EU regulators are expected to approve it.
Featured image: Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
