A senior Microsoft official reiterated the company's commitment to include Xbox games for the Nintendo Switch 2. The move underscores the gaming giant's ongoing multi-platform publishing pivot that has already resulted in several previously Xbox-exclusive consoles launching on the original Switch.
Faced with declining console sales and extended game development cycles, Microsoft began boosting its gaming revenue by bringing titles to competing platforms in early 2024. In the latest example of this trend, Halo 1 remake was just announced for the PS5, which will get the same (yet to be announced) date as the Xbox Series X/S and PC do in 2026.
Switch 2 isn't getting Halo (yet), but more Xbox games are coming
Although the Switch 2 was not mentioned in the October 24 announcement, Nintendo's hybrid console will receive a lot of support from the Xbox. That's according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who said as much in a recent interview with Famitsu, conducted before Halos multi-platform push was confirmed. “We're trying to lower the barrier to entry for people to play our games,” the executive said, pointing to services and initiatives such as Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere, respectively. At the same time, he confirmed that Microsoft plans to continue releasing games for both Switch 2 and PS5.
Spencer complimented Nintendo on the “great support” given to Xbox studios during this ongoing multi-platform shift, and offered similar praise for PlayStation. His comments reinforce an earlier commitment to supporting the Switch 2 with Xbox games, which also saw management praise Nintendo as a “great partner” for Microsoft's games division.
While Halo yet to make the jump to Nintendo's ecosystem, is another major Microsoft franchise, with the recently announced Anniversary Edition of Fallout 4 confirmed for Switch 2. The re-release is currently targeted for a 2026 launch and will mark the first mainline Fall-out game to launch on a Nintendo system. It is not the first overall that that title is held by 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 on or confirmed for Nintendo Switch consoles
|
Game |
PC/Xbox release |
Switch / Switch 2 Release |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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) |
19 August 2021 |
||
|
Minecraft Legends |
April 18, 2023 |
||
|
Quake 2 (remaster) |
August 10, 2023 |
||
|
Pentium |
November 15, 2022 |
February 22, 2024 |
|
|
Based |
September 27, 2022 |
April 16, 2024 |
|
|
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 |
11 July 2025 |
||
|
Heretic + Hexen (remaster) |
August 7, 2025 |
Developed together 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 that game's Switch port was published by Iam8bit, so it's not included above. Games from Microsoft subsidiaries that were not Microsoft subsidiaries when released on Switch (Skyrim, Doom, etc.) were also left out.
While Microsoft only transitioned to full-fledged third-party publishing in early 2024, the company has sporadically published on Nintendo consoles throughout the Switch 1's lifecycle. Last, Heretic + The Witch and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 launched for Switch in summer 2025. Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition is the first Microsoft game confirmed for Switch 2 but not the original Switch.
