Microsoft is optimistic that it could overcome the technical limitations of the Nintendo Switch to bring Call of Duty to the platform.
In a filing to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft outlined what could be done to make good on its 10-year “binding” agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo platforms should its acquisition of Activision Blizzard be approved.
According to Microsoft, the engine powering the popular battle royale series is “mature and has been optimized to run on a wide range of hardware devices.” This includes the Xbox One, a nearly 10-year-old console, and PC GPUs “released as far back as 2015” — both of which predate the Switch’s 2017 launch. Further, Microsoft notes that Activision also offers a (yet-to-be-released) mobile version of Warzone that “runs natively on mobile phones which have much lower performance specifications than the Nintendo Switch.”
More specifically, Microsoft said there are “standard techniques” that have been used for Switch ports of the likes of Apex Legends, Fortnite, Doom Eternal and Crysis 3. On top of that, Microsoft says it’s “confident” in Activision Blizzard’s developers, who have a “long history of optimizing game performance for available hardware capabilities.”
Of course, this is all hypothetical until Microsoft actually owns Activision Blizzard. As it stands, European regulators are still deliberating on the deal, although Reuters reported last week that Microsoft’s deals with the likes of Nintendo and Nvidia have helped stave off governmental anti-competition concerns. Sony, for its part, has staunchly opposed the acquisition, arguing that Call of Duty would give Microsoft an unfair advantage. Most recently, the company expressed concerns that Microsoft might release inferior versions of games on PlayStation.
We’ll know for sure which argument ultimately wins out when the CMA delivers its final ruling on April 26th.
Image credit: Activision
Source: Microsoft
