Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Hits Switch 2 This Fall—But At a Visual Cost

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is launching on Nintendo Switch 2 this fall alongside PC, Xbox, and PS5—marking the first time a new Call of Duty game has arrived on a Nintendo console in over a decade. A recent open beta weekend revealed how the port performs, and while it technically works, the compromises required to get there are significant.

What the Beta Shows

The Switch 2 version targets 60 FPS in multiplayer across both handheld and docked modes. When docked, it mostly hits that target, with occasional dips comparable to what happens on PS5. However, achieving that framerate required considerable visual cutbacks. The result is a blurry, unstable-looking game filled with low-resolution textures, visual artifacts, and shimmering effects that make it difficult to spot distant players or distinguish between actual enemies and geometry popping in during gameplay. When multiple players appear on screen simultaneously—common in online PvP—the image becomes even blurrier.

Handheld performance tells a different story. The Switch 2 version struggles to maintain its targets here, rarely exceeding 45 FPS and dropping significantly during explosions or close-quarters encounters. The developers have acknowledged the handheld version needs further optimization before the full October release.

The campaign mode performs better visually than multiplayer but is capped at 30 FPS.

Why This Matters

Call of Duty is among the most visually demanding AAA shooters on the market, so translating Modern Warfare 4 to less powerful hardware is inherently challenging. The Switch 2 port represents a genuine technical effort to bring the franchise to Nintendo’s ecosystem after years of absence.

However, the practical value of a Switch 2 version remains questionable. Most players interested in Call of Duty likely already own a PS5, Xbox, or gaming PC—platforms where Modern Warfare 4 looks and runs significantly better. During the beta, Switch 2 players were rare in online lobbies even with crossplay enabled. The port exists partly because Microsoft committed to keeping Call of Duty multiplatform as part of regulatory approval for its acquisition of Activision.

What’s Next

The full release arrives in October, and developers have indicated improvements are coming between now and launch. Whether those optimizations will meaningfully narrow the gap between the Switch 2 version and other platforms—or convince players to choose Nintendo’s hardware over alternatives—remains to be seen.