Xbox Boss Talks Possibility of Xbox Game Pass on Nintendo Switch

Earlier this year, reports and rumors flooded the Internet that Microsoft and Nintendo were in talks to bring Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch. And while these talks may have happened, and may still be happening, there's been nothing said by Microsoft or Nintendo about such a collaboration. Further, many of the reports suggested the announcement was imminent, and, well, obviously that wasn't accurate. That said, Xbox boss Phil Spencer is open to the possibility, in fact he even leaves the door open for it happen, but it doesn't seem like it will actually happen anytime soon.

When asked by our sister site Giant Bomb about whether or not Microsoft was cooking up anything up in this regard, Spencer noted that right now the team is focused on getting its streaming tech up and running on Android. Further, that bringing Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch is no easy task. Still, the goal with Xbox Game Pass is to bring it to as many places as possible, so who knows what will happen in the future.

"I have said over time I'd like to take Game Pass everywhere," said Spencer. "I saw somebody joke I'd put Game Pass on the toaster if I could – I don't know about that. We're focused on the streaming side, at least, on Android, just because in some ways it's the hardest for us because it's so diverse in terms of the number of devices."

Spencer continued:

"I love the role that Nintendo plays in the industry. I love the fact that Minecraft Dungeons was announced there and we have really good relationships with them, and obviously Banjo in Smash. But that platform is different enough from an Xbox platform that it's not trivial for us just to say, 'Okay, all those games would run there'. So then you're like, 'Okay, are we gonna stream the games to there?' I love what Switch is, but the opportunity globally to focus on an Android platform is just such a natural first move for us. And frankly, it will take us quite a while to work through that, so that's the focus for us right now. But I want to have the best console experience because of what it gives you. I want you to be sitting on the couch with an amazing experience – it sounds great, I have access to any game that I want to play, and if I want to take that while I'm on the go, I think the Switch is a really cool platform for that. It's just that in the near-term, it's kind of hard for us to prioritize different than we are today."

As you can see, it doesn't look like we'll see Xbox Game Pass on Nintendo Switch, at least not anytime soon like many suggested.

Anyway, as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Would you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass if it was on Nintendo Switch?

Thanks, Nintendo Everything.