A senior Microsoft official reiterated the company's commitment to bring Xbox games on the Nintendo Switch 2. The move underscores the gaming giant's ongoing multi-platform publishing pivot, which has already resulted in several former Xbox exclusives coming to the original Switch.
Faced with declining console sales and lengthening game development cycles, Microsoft began boosting its gaming revenue in early 2024 by bringing titles to rival platforms. The latest example of this trend is Hello 1 the remake has just been announced for PS5, which will get it on the same (yet-unannounced) date as Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2026.
Switch 2 isn't getting halo (yet), but more Xbox games are coming
While the Switch 2 wasn't mentioned in the October 24 announcement, Nintendo's hybrid console will get a lot of support from Xbox. That's according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who said as much in a recent interview with Famitsu. Halocross platform push has been confirmed. “We're trying to lower the barrier to entry for people to play our games,” the executive said, pointing to services and initiatives like Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere. He also confirmed that Microsoft plans to continue publishing games for both Switch 2 and PS5.
Spencer praised Nintendo for the “fantastic support” given to Xbox studios during this ongoing cross-platform shift, and offered similar praise for PlayStation. His comments confirm an earlier commitment to support the Switch 2 with Xbox games, which also saw the executive praise Nintendo as a “great partner” for Microsoft's gaming division.
While Halo not yet jumping into the Nintendo ecosystem, Microsoft's next big franchise is with the newly announced Anniversary Edition Fallout 4 is confirmed for Switch 2. The re-release is currently targeted for a 2026 launch and will mark the first major series Fallout game to run on a Nintendo system. He is not first overall as he holds that title Fallout Shelterwhich was ported to the Switch in June 2018, three years before Microsoft bought the post-apocalyptic IP as part of its ZeniMax Media acquisition.
All Xbox games released or confirmed for Nintendo Switch consoles
|
Game |
PC/Xbox release |
Switch / Switch 2 Release |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Minecraft |
November 18, 2011 |
May 11, 2017 |
|
|
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition |
March 11, 2016 |
September 27, 2019 |
Not developed in-house but published by Microsoft Studios. |
|
Minecraft Dungeons |
May 26, 2020 |
||
|
Quake (remastered) |
August 19, 2021 |
||
|
Minecraft legends |
April 18, 2023 |
||
|
Quake 2 (remastered) |
August 10, 2023 |
||
|
Pentiment |
November 15, 2022 |
February 22, 2024 |
|
|
Grounded |
September 27, 2022 |
April 16, 2024 |
|
|
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 |
July 11, 2025 |
||
|
Heretic + Hexen (remaster) |
August 7, 2025 |
Developed in partnership with Nightdive Studios. |
|
|
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition |
2026 |
Exact release date TBA. |
|
Xbox Game Studios also published Ori and the Will of the Wisps, but the Switch port of that game was published by Iam8bit, so it's not listed above. Games from Microsoft subsidiaries that were not Microsoft subsidiaries at the time they were released on Switch (Skyrim, Doom, etc.) were also left out.
While Microsoft hasn't targeted full-fledged third-party publishing until early 2024, the company has sporadically published on Nintendo consoles during the Switch's 1st lifecycle. Heretic + Hexen and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 launching for Switch in summer 2025. Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition is the first Microsoft game confirmed for Switch 2, but not for the original Switch.
