Microsoft capped off Xbox Game Showcase 2025 with a teaser trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. However, there’s something mysterious about that teaser that goes beyond the in-game storylines.
While Microsoft promised to show more about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in a later date, their website already confirms some of the game’s upcoming platforms:
- Xbox
- Battle.net
- Steam
- PlayStation
There’s one platform that’s conspicuous in its absence here, and that’s Nintendo. While Microsoft has already confirmed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 as a launch title for the Switch 2, there were a lot of gamers expecting to get a Call of Duty announcement as well.
And this isn’t just because of fanboyism. In the middle of Microsoft’s one year effort to get their deal to acquire Activision approved by regulators around the world, Microsoft signed a deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo’s platforms for ten years.
The thing is, we don’t know if Microsoft has already broken some terms in that deal, or if they have amended it, or even if it has been cancelled or changed. Microsoft and Nintendo never shared the contract or other details of the deal, and that’s left Call of Duty and Nintendo fans both in the dark.
As reported by Ethan Gach for Kotaku, his sources claim that Microsoft and Nintendo are ‘still working on it.’ While that renews hope for Nintendo fans that they will play a Call of Duty game someday, it still leaves a lot open to speculation or hearsay.
In particular, the question of what they are working on is still up for debate. It’s possible that the Call of Duty teams just got started with the Switch 2 dev kits, so they aren’t ready to bring their games yet. It’s also possible that there was some debate about bringing the games to the Switch alongside the Switch 2, which we imagine the Call of Duty devs would not have been thrilled with.
But then, it is possible that a Switch 2 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is ready to release this year, and the issues are relatively minor. For one, it’s possible that mouse mode, which would potentially give Switch 2 players an advantage over other console players, could be a point of contention.
There may also be technical issues with coordinating adding the Switch 2 to cross-platform multiplayer. Activision may be weighing if they should make Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 so that only Switch 2 players can play with each other, if they feel they can’t deliver a satisfactory cross-platform experience until they’ve figured the Switch 2 out.
Whatever the reason is, we’re certainly hopeful that Microsoft will add the Switch 2 to those platforms when they finally make the official reveal for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. If the Switch 2 is potentially the start of a new era of gaming, it could be a new era for Call of Duty as well.
