Update [Thu 27th Aug 2026, 10am]:

It was looking this way earlier in the week, and now an Amazon listing has confirmed it: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be a code-in-a-box release on Switch 2.

While pre-orders haven’t opened up just yet, the ‘physical’ edition does now have a page of its own on the storefront, complete with an image of the cover art and that dreaded “Download Code Only” message down the bottom.

Here are the European and North American boxes, so you can see for yourself:

Maybe not the most surprising news, but it’s still a shame to see another big release dodge a complete-on-cart option.

Modern Warfare 4’s Switch 2 beta open access kicks off tomorrow (28th August), so we can all see how the latest entry holds up on Nintendo’s comparatively smaller console before the full launch in October.

Original Story: If you’re wondering how exactly Activision will distribute the retail version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on the Switch 2, some new information has surfaced via social media.

This update comes from Video Games Plus. According to the North American physical video game distributor, the Switch 2 version of MW4 will be a “code-in-box” release when it arrives this October. As it’s “just a box with a download code inside”, VGP says it won’t be carrying the product.

This might not be the most surprising news if you’re familiar with how the series operates nowadays, but it’s still caused some upset online. Activision’s file sizes, downloads and updates for the blockbuster titles have continued to rise, and existing releases have been managed through a dedicated game launcher, where you select what games, modes and content to install.

There’s no official update about how exactly the installation for the Switch 2 version of the game will work, but this will be the first Call of Duty on a Nintendo platform in 13 years, so any file management will focus exclusively on this title. In early access on Switch 2, players simply download and launch the beta to play it.

When Switch 2 players join the fight this October, they can jump into the campaign and multiplayer modes. The multiplayer will also receive regular game updates. If there are any significant developments about the retail version of Call of Duty, we’ll let you know.