Xbox Game Pass will not come to Nintendo Switch or PS5 admits Microsoft

This is not going to happen (pic: Metro)

Phil Spencer has made it clear he doesn’t expect Xbox Game Pass to appear on any ‘closed system’ despite ongoing rumours about Nintendo.

The relationship between the game divisions of Microsoft and Sony has been relatively cordial for the last few years but the idea that Xbox Game Pass could ever appear on a PlayStation console has always seemed laughable – even though some have whispered at the possibility.

Microsoft gets on much better with Nintendo though (certainly better than Sony does) and there are long-standing rumours that they have been trying to reach an agreement to get Game Pass onto Switch, especially once their streaming service goes mainstream.

Recent revelations even confirm that Microsoft has had secret talks with Nintendo – about subjects unknown – but in a new interview Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted there’s little chance of Game Pass ever appearing on a rival console.

‘We have no plans to bring it [Game Pass] to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don’t want something like Game Pass’, Spencer told GamesRadar.

‘There’s a ton of open platforms out there for us to grow in: the web, PC, and mobile. So all of our focus, frankly, is on those platforms.’

Although he didn’t mention them in this instance Microsoft has also been making a push to get Game Pass working on smart TVs and basically any online device that isn’t a games console.

‘That’s not a slam on anybody else who has a system that works for them. I can see why the disruption of Game Pass is not something that they want right now’, he added.

‘In the end, when we say we want everybody to be able to play on Xbox, we really mean if we can bring that full experience to a device that players want, we are totally open to those discussions.’

More: Games news

Give the way Microsoft has cooperated with Nintendo over Super Smash Bros. and first party titles like Minecraft and Ori – and the fact that their exclusive line-ups are so radically different – Nintendo does seem a more likely partner than Sony.

‘You know, evolution always takes time’, Spencer said in reference to Game Pass on the Switch in particular.

‘There are different strengths that different companies have built through hard work, and some of these changes they might see as disruptive. And they’ll have their own kind of business cadence and pace at which they want to make those changes.’

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Game Pass subscribers spend 50% more on games than non-subscribers says Microsoft

MORE : Xbox Live Gold will be dropped for good once Game Pass is more popular claims source

MORE : Xbox Cloud Gaming now available to everyone on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.