If you plan to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 online on a Switch 2, expect your controller to feel slower than on a PS5. Digital Foundry’s measurements put multiplayer input lag on Nintendo’s console at 81ms when docked and 100ms in handheld mode, while the PS5 sits at 49ms.
That is 64% more delay on the TV and roughly double in handheld play. Ghosts in 2013 was the last Call of Duty on a Nintendo console, and the lag is the one part of this port the testers said could cost players kills.
In its tech review, Digital Foundry tested with the Switch 2 Pro Controller and a Sony DualSense, both wireless, since that is how most people play. The handheld figure swung a lot, with individual readings between 83ms and 125ms. The outlet described Switch 2 players as facing a competitive disadvantage, moving input from “not great but fine” to “actually deleterious to performance”.
Frame rates and resolution hold up
Outside of input lag, the review was mostly positive. Multiplayer aims for 60fps and mostly gets there, but heavy fights, thick smoke and a riot shield’s visor can pull it down to the high 40s or 50s. The campaign stays at 30fps. DMZ, the extraction mode, targets 40fps when the console is hooked to a 120Hz screen.
On a TV the picture is built around 900p using Nvidia’s DLSS, and a busy sequence like the Paris car chase can push it down to 450p. In handheld mode the base is 720p and the floor is 360p. Compared with PS5 and Xbox, screen-space reflections are gone and shadows are lower quality, while physics and animation match.
What could change
Input lag of this kind can sometimes be trimmed by a software patch, but neither Activision nor Nintendo has said anything about fixing it. Because Switch 2 players are matched against people on other consoles, the extra delay is felt in direct duels.
