Microsoft's RTX Spark PCs ship without Call of Duty support until 2027
A $2,599 gaming laptop that can't run its parent company's biggest FPS for a year
Microsoft announced at its Windows and Surface event that RTX Spark PCs will run "hundreds" of AAA and indie games from day one. Call of Duty isn't on that list. According to Windows and Devices head Pavan Davuluri, CoD support arrives sometime in 2027. Microsoft didn't specify which Call of Duty title or explain the delay.
The timing is rough. Activision is a Microsoft-owned studio. The Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark starts at $2,599 and ships October 16. You're buying a high-end gaming laptop that can't run the publisher's flagship shooter for over a year.
The obvious suspect is anti-cheat. Kernel-level anti-cheat systems like Ricochet don't play nice with new architectures without deliberate enablement. If that's the blocker, other competitive shooters with similar protection (Valorant, Apex, Tarkov) might hit the same wall. Microsoft hasn't confirmed this, but it fits the pattern we've seen with Windows on ARM and driver transitions.
If you're eyeing an RTX Spark machine and CoD is your daily driver, this is a hard pass until 2027. Check BetterFPS to see which games in your rotation actually run on the platform before dropping $2,600.