Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Looks Sad on Switch 2, Say Testers

Picture quality had to be sacrificed for a stable frame rate.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be the first installment in the series to be released on Nintendo Switch 2, following Microsoft and Nintendo's ten-year agreement to bring Call of Duty to the Japanese company's platforms. However, initial impressions of the version for the new console indicate that developers had to make serious compromises.

The Modern Warfare 4 beta has already launched on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, but the Switch 2 version is not yet available to the general public. Nevertheless, some bloggers and gaming media outlets have had the opportunity to test the port in advance and share their impressions.

Sledgehammer Games and Beenox's main priority, it seems, was the frame rate. In docked mode, the multiplayer version of the game aims for 60 fps and largely maintains this rate, although during particularly intense scenes, there are drops and noticeable image stuttering.

The downside was an extremely low base resolution. Reviewers noted a large number of visual artifacts, especially around character models, weapons, and buildings. The problem becomes more noticeable during camera turns and rapid movement.

An Activision representative reportedly confirmed in the official Discord that Switch 2 uses a built-in DLSS implementation. Nintendo World Report's John Rairden, however, sharply criticized the image quality, stating that he had never seen such poorly implemented DLSS before.

Paradoxically, the game feels better in handheld mode. The small screen of the Switch 2 makes the low resolution less noticeable, and some testers even noted smoother performance. It is possible that the perception of smoothness is influenced by the console's display supporting variable refresh rates.