On February 21, 2023, Microsoft and Nintendosigned a binding 10-year contract to bring Activision’s Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms, contingent on Microsoft successfully completing its acquisition of the publisher. That, of course, has long come to pass, but no Call of Duty materialized on Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 until Modern Warfare 4.
The game’s pre-order beta is now live on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X, though not on Switch 2. However, a few content creators, such as Spawn Wave and Nintendo World Report, were able to go hands-on with the version for Nintendo’s console and share footage and impressions ahead of the public beta, which will also be available to everyone on the platform.
Both sets of impressions agree on the core trade-off that Sledgehammer and Beenox have made with the Switch 2 build of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4: frame rate was clearly prioritized over resolution. The game reportedly targets and mostly hits 60 fps in docked mode, though it does dip during busier moments, such as when several players cluster in a tight space. Frame hitching still happened during the busiest moments, and the base resolution isn’t great, to say the least.
Both impressions describe heavy artifacting, particularly around character models, weapons, and buildings, worsening noticeably when panning the camera or sprinting. John Rairden of Nintendo World Report said an Activision representative confirmed on the beta’s official Discord that the Switch 2 version uses the console’s integrated DLSS implementation, adding, “I’ve never seen a DLSS implementation that looks this bad.” The visual downgrade appears to be even more aggressive than typical Switch 2 third-party ports.
Interestingly, the creators found the experience somehow improved in handheld mode, where the smaller screen size makes the resolution shortfall far less noticeable, and at least one reported the frame rate felt smoother there as well, though it’s unclear whether that’s due to the Switch 2 display’s variable refresh rate support.
For handheld play specifically, the Joy-Con’s limited stick travel was flagged as a genuine handicap for aiming precision in a fast-paced shooter, recommending the Pro Controller instead, even in tabletop mode. Mouse mode drew more detailed impressions from Nintendo World Report’s Jordan Rudek, who spent his entire multiplayer session using it specifically to compete against PC mouse-and-keyboard players sharing the same test server.
He described the experience as feeling “really quite good” thanks to the game’s frame rate, though he struggled to distinguish distant enemies from background clutter at the game’s lower resolution, a problem he called particularly limiting for sniping. Still, the creators expressed hope for a resolution/quality toggle, similar to performance versus quality modes on other consoles, that could trade frame rate for sharper image quality.
Nintendo World Report also managed to briefly access a single campaign mission after their official beta access window technically ended, something they suspect wasn’t meant to be publicly available yet. Performance was notably worse there, with regular traversal stutters compounding the already low resolution in a larger, AI-heavy level. Separately, French outlet Switch-Actu reported that it appears to target 30 fps rather than multiplayer’s 60 fps, trading frame rate for a visibly cleaner image with fewer of the artifacting issues seen in online modes.
Despite the visual shortcomings, early impressions are largely positive on stability. However, it remains to be seen whether the developers will keep cross-play available for the final game, as the Switch 2 version’s lower resolution and reduced enemy model detail at range put it at a clear competitive disadvantage against PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players, all of whom also have access to higher frame rate ceilings, including 120Hz modes unavailable on Switch 2.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 will be released on October 23, 2026.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief.
In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech’s gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews.
Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications.
His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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