Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, has ambitious plans for Microsoft’s Game Pass service. In fact, he goes so far as to suggest that he hopes to bring Game Pass to every console and device that can support it.
“We want to bring Game Pass to any device that somebody wants to play on,” said Spencer in an interview with Geekwire. “Not just because it’s our business, but really because the business model allows for people to consume and find games that they wouldn’t have played in any other space.”
This seemingly lends a lot of weight to that rumour that Xbox Game Pass might come to Nintendo Switch. Of course, that suggestion is further supported by the fact that Microsoft and Nintendo have been working together closely in recent years with Microsoft going so far as to allow the Nintendo version of Minecraft to feature skins from Halo. Microsoft has also sent some Microsoft Game Studios titles to the Nintendo Switch before other devices.
However, that statement also seems to suggest that Microsoft would be willing to allow the PS4 (or even the PS5) to support Xbox Game Pass. While Spencer doesn’t go so far as to name drop Sony’s consoles, “any device that somebody wants to play on” would theoritically include the world’s best-selling console. That said, we highly doubt that Sony would ever allow that to happen considering how long it took them to support cross-play.
You might be asking, “How in the world would the Switch and mobile devices ever be able to support some of the high-end games on Xbox Game Pass?” The answer to that question seems to have something to do with Microsoft’s Project xCloud streaming service and how it may allow different kinds of devices to support Xbox titles via cloud technology. We’ve previously mentioned how that techology and services like Game Pass are likely going to be a bigger part of Microsoft’s future than even their consoles.
Microsoft will also need to compete with Google and other companies who have other cloud-based services of thier own in development. Of course, only Microsoft can offer the value of Game Pass alongside their cloud service technology.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.
