Xbox games will be on Nintendo Switch 2 confirms Microsoft as Doom rumoured-Adam Starkey-Entertainment – Metro

The Dark Ages might be going portable (Microsoft)

Microsoft’s gaming CEO has confirmed Xbox games are coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, as he refuses to rule out Starfield for other platforms.

Xbox’s pivot towards becoming a multiplatform company may have accelerated over the past two years, but the origins of this shift began a few years prior.

In hindsight, the key turning point was Ori And The Blind Forest’s arrival on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. This was the first Microsoft-published game on the console, which led to Banjo and Kazooie’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – signifying a new kind of relationship between the two companies.

We’ve seen other Xbox games arrive on Switch since then, including Ori And The Will Of The Wisps, Grounded, and Pentiment. So given that, and how key the idea of bringing Call Of Duty to Nintendo formats was during their campaign to buy Activision Blizzard, it’s no surprise to hear Xbox is planning to support the Nintendo Switch 2 in a significant way.

Speaking in an interview with Gamertag Radio, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said he congratulated Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa following the console’s reveal.

‘I was exchanging emails with Furukawa-san, the CEO of Nintendo,’ Spencer said. ‘I gave him a big congrats and said my old eyes appreciate the larger screen.

That’s a very different tone to the leaked email in which Spencer previously spoke about his desire to buy Nintendo and how, in his opinion, ‘their future exists off of their own hardware’.

‘Nintendo, their innovation, and what they mean in this industry… I just always applaud the moves that they make. They did a little flash video, and I know we’ll get more detail over time. I’m really looking forward to supporting them with the games that we have, and I just think they’re such an important part of this industry,’ said Spencer on Gamertag Radio.

He added: ‘It’s hard with what’s publicly out there now for everybody to get their [heads] around it, but who would ever bet against the success of that team? They are just masterful in what they do, Switch is a massive success, and I think Switch 2 will be as well.’

Xbox’s support of the Switch 2 is entirely expected and Spencer’s comments might give credence to recent rumours that Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition are all coming to the platform.

Another insider, eXtas1s, who is known for Xbox Game Pass leaks, has claimed Doom: The Dark Ages is defintely coming to the Switch 2, but the port is being ‘deliberately held back’ from being shown to prevent any leaks about the console’s power.

The two previous Doom titles both came to Nintendo Switch, so it would make sense for the next game to arrive on the Switch 2. The big question is how well it will run, with Doom: The Dark Ages being (currently) exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

There’s a chance Starfield is in the pipeline as well. In an interview with games journalist Destin Legarie, Spencer was asked directly if he could ‘solidify’ whether Bethesda’s space role-playing game will remain exclusive on Xbox ‘for the time being’.

‘No,’ Spencer replied. ‘There’s no specific game… there’s no reason for me to put a ring fence around any game and say ‘this game will not go to a place where it will find players and have business success for us’.

‘What we find is we’re able to drive a better business that allows us to invest in a great game line-up like you saw, that’s our strategy. Our strategy is to allow our games to be available. Game Pass is an important component of playing the games on our platform. But to keep games off of other platforms… that’s not a path for us, it doesn’t work for us.’

Spencer’s comments reiterate his prior ‘no red line’ stance when it comes to putting Xbox games on other platforms, but this practically confirms some kind of port for Starfield is in the works, whether for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, or both.

If Xbox is set to support the Nintendo Switch 2 in a big way, this raises questions around what Microsoft’s plans are for its own handheld device. Spencer previously confirmed an Xbox handheld is being prototyped, but it’s unclear if it will similarly be a hybrid console.

However, the discussion does seem to confirm that Nintendo has instructed its third party partners not to reveal any games yet – probably until the Nintendo Direct planned for April 2.

Xbox is downplaying the box (Microsoft)

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