Handheld gaming has declined in recent years, with Nintendo being the only major company still pursuing the medium. It's been over a year since the PS Vita was discontinued now, and Xbox never had a handheld console to begin with. Rather than make another DS, Nintendo opted to create the Switch, a console which in and of itself was revolutionary. Its hybrid console/handheld design allows it to fill a niche that the PS4 and Xbox One simply aren't able to despite its lack of power, as players seem to love its portability. Though there have been some attempts to bring triple-A games to the console, a Call of Duty on Switch could have huge implications.
At the moment, there are no Call of Duty games on Switch, and in fact, there haven't been any on Nintendo systems since Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U seven years ago. It's not entirely clear why the franchise decided to step away from Nintendo, as there are a fair share of rated M games on Switch, so maturity must not be the issue. Regardless, outside of Call of Duty: Mobile, fans haven't really been able to take the experience with them, and putting Call of Duty on Switch could be the way to make that happen.
Call of Duty on Switch Could Revolutionize Triple-A Games on Switch
It should be said that there are several games on the Switch that are already considered triple-A. Titles like Skyrim, Mortal Kombat, and The Witcher 3 have all made their way to the handheld console, but there is still a noticeable lack of representation from big, upcoming games. Highly anticipated upcoming titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla are opting to skip the Switch in favor of the big three (PC, PlayStation, and Xbox), and some of these titles are even coming to Stadia but not Switch. Another notable example, of course, is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. In theory, it could be the first Call of Duty on Switch, but there's really no plans for that, and there doesn't seem to be any whatsoever.
Whether or not any of those games will eventually make their way to the Switch remains to be seen, but the question still remains of why they choose to pass them up in the first place. Though its hardware may not be as powerful as other current gen consoles, a gap which will only increase once next gen PS5 consoles and Xbox Series X/S consoles release this week, it is unparalleled in terms of convenience and portability. Some fans may want to play these amazing games, like Call of Duty on Switch, and many would be willing to sacrifice some visual fidelity or suffer slightly worse performance in order to make that happen.
Call of Duty on Switch
In regards to the possibilities of Call of Duty on Switch, the answer appears to be a resounding no, at least for the time being. Neither Activision nor Treyarch have made any announcement hinting that the next Call of Duty game will come to the platform, and there's no reason to believe that Call of Duty 2021 will either. It's unfortunate, but it seems to be a reality of the time that major titles like these don't come to the Switch.
With time though, some older titles do end up on Nintendo's Switch console. For example, Skyrim came to the Switch six years after its initial release, and The Witcher 3, which initially released in 2015, didn't come to the console until 2019. It could be that in a few years, Call of Duty on Switch becomes a reality for Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, or others , but given the necessity of an online community for CoD games, that seems unlikely too. If Call of Duty were to release a game on Switch that did well, it's possible that other triple-A studios would follow suit and start developing for the console, but until that day comes, fans will simply have to wait.