With the new console generation on the horizon and a major event in just a few days, Microsoft has been at the center of a number of new rumors. One seemingly involves its popular subscription service Game Pass, which many are indicatingcould be merging with Xbox Live. It’s clear Microsoft has big things for the service, which constantly gets newly release games added, though one planned feature may actually not make the cut after all.
In a recent interview,Xboxhead Phil Spencer was asked whether or not a Microsoft style experience like the Game Pass would eventually be coming to other gaming platforms such as the PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch. While Spencer has previously commented that this is a long term goal for the company, his answer this time was a lot more pessimistic about that actually coming to pass.
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He goes on to mention that the places where the Xbox experience currently exists, the company knows that there are expectations as tot he sorts of things the play has access to such as their first-party titles, achievements, and the general Xbox Live community. While that’s possible on the PC and mobile devices thanks tothe upcoming xCloud streaming service, Spencer admitted that the other competitive platforms aren’t interested in having the full Xbox experience on their hardware.
Based on his response, it can be interpreted that Microsoft may have investigated whether or not bringing Game Pass or other Xbox-specific features would be a viable option on the Switch or PlayStation. While it’s unlikely that Sony would have ever agreed to this, perhaps Nintendo was a bit more receptive but an agreement couldn’t be reached. Perhaps Microsoft realized early on that rival companies wouldn’t want a competitor living on their platforms, so Microsoft decided to simply stick with the Xbox consoles, mobile devices, and the PC.
While it’s a bit strange to ever consider a PlayStation console having an Xbox experience on it, it could have been at least feasible with Nintendo. Both companies have gotten much closer over the years, with theSwitch also getting former Xbox first-party titleslikeMinecraft Dungeons,Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, New Super Lucky’s Tale,Cuphead, andOri and the Blind Forest. It stands to reason that even more titles could eventually make their way over to the Switch at some point in the future.
