Xbox Game Pass could land on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5

Xbox really is branching out these days – first Activision, now the possibility of Xbox Game Pass coming to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Could this mark the end of the console wars?

As Microsoft has expanded its Xbox services over the years, the brand has shifted away from focusing on just its flagship consoles, with them instead using the phrase “Xbox ecosystem” to describe its assets. Given the fact that Xbox has a reach that far exceeds its consoles, this is the best way to emphasise its quest for expansion and, perhaps, unity.

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Now its sights are set on bringing Xbox Game Pass to other consoles not belonging to the brand, though it’s a move fraught with obstacles. However, while it may be a logistical nightmare, Xbox CFO Tim Stuart still feels passionately about the possibility in the future.

“It's a bit of a change of strategy. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games,” Stuart said at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit. “That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo.”

It’s ambitious, we’ll give Xbox that. However, it’s also, potentially, unrealistic. We don’t need to tell anyone that relations between Sony and Xbox aren’t great – both companies constantly seem to be trying to outdo one another, despite both decrying “console wars”. Then you’ve got the Switch, a small and mighty console, but one that would struggle to play titles like Starfield or Baldur’s Gate 3.

A lot of hurdles are between Microsoft’s vision and it becoming reality. Although it would certainly expand Game Pass’ potential, we’re not sure if we’ll ever see such a crossover. And it begs the question whether we’d welcome it as players – we’re just so stuck in our ways.