Activision has confirmed it’s working with Nintendo to bring the iconic Call of Duty franchise to the Switch, but does that mean Black Ops 7 will be hitting the Switch 2? Fans of both Call of Duty and Nintendo have been eagerly awaiting the news, especially after the surprise announcement of Black Ops 7 (which felt like a drop straight out of a surprise Beyonce album!). The latest installment of the Black Ops series is confirmed to launch across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC (via Xbox PC, Battle.net, and Steam).
However, there’s been no official word on a Switch 2 version… yet.
The buzz about Call of Duty coming to Nintendo platforms started in 2023 when Microsoft signed a 10-year deal to bring the game to Nintendo consoles “on the same day as Xbox,” with full feature and content parity. This deal was part of Microsoft’s effort to smooth over regulatory concerns surrounding its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which faced scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and global regulators. The move was aimed at reassuring the public that Call of Duty would remain accessible to as many gamers as possible, regardless of platform.
Despite this, there has been skepticism. In 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked Microsoft’s acquisition, citing concerns that Nintendo’s hardware wouldn’t be able to handle Call of Duty at the same level of performance as on Xbox or PlayStation. The CMA’s statement highlighted that there was no evidence suggesting that Nintendo’s consoles could run a version of the game with comparable gameplay and content quality.
Despite these challenges, Activision and Nintendo are still working to bring Call of Duty to the Switch. In a statement to IGN, Activision emphasized their commitment to getting the franchise on Nintendo’s platform. “Both teams are working on it. We’ll share details when ready.” While it seems unlikely that Black Ops 7 will be available on the Switch, there’s hope for a release on Switch 2, which is more technically capable than its predecessor.
While Black Ops 7 is still set to release on older consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it’s clear that the Switch 2 could be the ideal platform for this next-gen game. We could be hearing about a Switch 2 version soon, especially if Nintendo has a big Direct presentation lined up. It’s been a long time since Call of Duty appeared on a Nintendo console, with the last game being 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Wii U.