While Microsoft has officially entered into an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to the Switch, all in what seems to be a move to convince trade regulation bodies that the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a good thing for the games industry, the UK's trade regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) isn't convinced this will be such a good thing.
In a new report from the CMA, the organisation notes that the Switch is at a significant disadvantage to PC and current-gen consoles when it comes to available hardware and power, meaning the quality of Call of Duty titles on Switch is a big question mark.
The report notes: "We have also seen evidence that large shooter games do not run as well on Nintendo's consoles due to its technical differentiation. One third party submitted that graphically intensive shooters may often be targeted originally at PlayStation and Xbox due to the specific characteristics of their console performance, and that porting to the Nintendo Switch may require financial investment and compromises on graphical quality, or the use of cloud-gaming solutions."
This comes directly after the CMA stressing worries about a Call of Duty game's file size, which will likely be a nightmare for Switch owners.
The report continues: "Publishers' views similarly indicated that developing a game for Switch is a significantly different task relative to doing it for Xbox and PS due to its technical differences. One publisher stated that it encountered technical difficulties when bringing a game to Nintendo Switch but no difficulty in bring the same game to Xbox or PlayStation. The publisher noted that the Switch's limited graphics and storage are technical limitations that affect the performance of competitive games more than that of game(s) brought to Xbox or PlayStation. Another publisher stated that several of its games are not available on Nintendo as Nintendo has different capabilities from PlayStation and Xbox."
The CMA lists Doom Eternal, Apex Legends, and Fortnite as examples of how shooters run on the Switch and then notes that relatively speaking, the quality of a Call of Duty game could be a problem on the platform.
There was also mention about the cloud-streaming technology used to bring big games to the Switch, although the CMA also highlighted: "We also note the Parties' submission that Nintendo's partnership with Ubitus' cloud streaming technology to release Resident Evil Village on Switch enables gameplay with levels of graphical fidelity comparable to that found on a high-level PC, PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. However, as discussed above, we consider that there are currently significant differences between cloud gaming and gaming on consoles (eg, the need for an internet connection to stream games from cloud gaming services). Also, the ability of the Switch to connect to a third party cloud gaming service provider would not make it a closer competitor to Xbox and PlayStation in the console gaming market."
Further concerns about this deal were also raised, including Call of Duty's audience likely not being on Nintendo consoles, and that Nintendo's position in the console space is so different to that of Xbox and PlayStation's that the company can't really be thought of and compared in the same bracket.