
Update: In addition to Nintendo Switch, both of these games have also now been confirmed for PS5. The two extra titles that Sony will be getting are Hi-Fi RUSH and Sea Of Thieves, neither of which appear to be getting a Switch version.
Original story: As part of today's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, the Switch maker has announced that two Obsidian titles are making their way to the hybrid console very soon. The two Microsoft first-party releases have long been rumoured as a couple of the four Xbox games moving over to other platforms - and now that rumour has been confirmed.
First off, single-player RPG Pentiment is launching tomorrow, February 22nd, on Nintendo Switch. Then, on April 16th, the team's multiplayer survival adventure Grounded also lands on Nintendo's hybrid machine.
Both of these titles seem to make a lot of sense for the platform, and we'd imagine they'll look and play quite nicely on Switch - especially in handheld form. At the time of writing we haven't heard about Xbox's plans to launch these two games on PlayStation, but we'd imagine that's in the pipeline too.
The remaining two games that are rumoured to move to other platforms are Hi-Fi RUSH and Sea Of Thieves - the latter has even been teased by developer Rare. Maybe these two are being saved for a PlayStation showcase of some form? We'll just have to wait and see.
What do you make of this first multiplatform move by Xbox? Go ahead and discuss down below.
Comments 64
If I own them on Xbox will I have to buy them again on Switch or can I log in via a front end to access them?. You can bet its the 1st option
Grounded makes a tonne of sense and I'm just glad Pentiment will be played by more people. Pentiment was my game of the year for 2022.
Xbox gave 2 games to Nintendo Switch, but got skipped by Monster Hunter Stories Remastered. What a bad deal!
Had a blast with grounded and pentiment.
And SMT V is coming to Xbox, right?
Grounded is my favorite of the 4 rumored games. I would love to start a new world with switch friends. Hopefully crossplay is easy with friends on Nintendo.
@Muddy It's a different system so yeah obviously
Couldn't care less about either, give me Hi Fi Rush.
@Muddy so Phil Spencer actually spoke about this which I think people missed. I think his intention was that the purchase would carry over either way. So you could buy the Switch version and then access the Xbox version too. However we are not there yet unfortunately.
@Muddy Play Anywheeeeree...sssoort of...
@ShadowofTwilight Most people take it for granted that Hi-Fi Rush would run on the Switch.
@Lup yes
@rhyno_888 you're getting SMT V
@anoyonmus It's not Nintendo first party game
@rhyno_888 and neither is Monster Hunter Stories Remastered.
@rhyno_888 did u actually expect Nintendo 1st party games to be shown? ITS A PARTNER SHOWCASE. Meaning only indies and 3rd parties.
@Muddy Nintendo says yes, buy everything again at our new store, including Nintendo ports from the same generation.
@BacklogBrad Grounded is great. I stepped away because I was playing too much (and solo). Palworld kind of reminds me of it, in some ways. I got through the first murder in Pentiment. That is a very good game, just a different type of game than one that targets the lowest common denominator.
I wonder how these games will be priced...
@rhyno_888 You're referring to completely unrelated circumstances. Capcom develops and publishes Monster Hunter so them deciding to overlook Xbox has zero to do with MS deciding to put games on Switch. If Monster Hunter was Nintendo 1st party game you'd kinda have a point, but even then not a good one. Xbox is sharing titles because of their current market position. Sony and Nintendo haven't asked for these titles, (they're just gladly accepting them) so there is no deal.
@anoyonmus I know but it's weird Monster Hunter game skipping Xbox for unknown reason
I am really curious how well these two will sell on Switch.
I'm surprised that Grounded is so soon after Pentiment, already 2/4 games released by the end of April. I thought the gap between the first 2 games would be larger (e.g. game 1 as Direct shadow drop, game 2 releasing Fall/Holiday 2024).
Honestly makes me think the other 2 (Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves) will be released by the end of summer, then the rumours from a few weeks ago about stuff like Starfield/Indiana Jones/Gears/Halo for PS5 resurface.
@theduckofdeath grounded is $40 and Pentiment is $20 at full price on US Steam store. Im guessing that those will be the prices on switch as well. I liked Pentiment but I don't know if I would have tried that one at $20 and not on Gamepass.
Hi fi is supposedly going to playstation March 18th. Are they going with 2 on nintendo, 2 on playstation?
@BacklogBrad where did you see the date for Hi-Fi Rush?
@K1LLEGAL twitter. It's still rumor territory but there is an image from a Spanish trailer from Bethesda's Latin America account (already removed from youtube) saying March 18th on playstation.
https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1760335033590489447
@BacklogBrad sounds legit but i’m fully done with Twitter rumours.
@Muddy of course you will have to buy them. MS doesn’t own the Switch.
This is a win win for both Xbox and Nintendo and will pour some more money into making more Xbox games going forward.
This is the legendary Microsoft and Nintendo partnership we heard about were Xbox gives Nintendo as many games as possible and in return they give Xbox nothing, what a partnership 👍
@Tecinthehead nintendo gives them revenue which they can spend on more game/hardware development. Sounds like a pretty good partnership.
Two great games in a great platform. Cool to see Xbox logo in the Nintendo Direct.
@BacklogBrad so then Microsoft and PlayStation also have a fantastic partnership too! I thought the partnership would be Nintendo giving Microsoft permission to have the rest of the Rare developed games on Xbox (Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong Country games, etc)
Phil best negotiator, he gives everything takes nothing and still grabs about it, what a chud.
@Tecinthehead yes microsoft and sony do have a great partnership. The best selling playstation game of 2024 will be xbox owned call of duty. Playstation pays to use Microsoft azure servers. Etc. Console wars are for losers on twitter.
@BacklogBrad and they Will take 30% or more with each ms copy sold for their exclusive deals.
@Mambitos there's nothing wrong with a mutually beneficial deal.
@Mambitos But Microsoft will get 70% from Sony players that refuse to play elsewhere. Worldwide, Call of Duty is one of the best-selling games every year, only rivalled by Minecraft, also owned by Microsoft, and GTA. In any case, this is going to be a very clever strategy with just small games and online games according to Microsoft. The rest are baseless rumours.
@Banjo- for now, under MS Cod still hás a lot to prove. Minecraft is stalling with no direction. GTA is not owned by MS.
@BacklogBrad mutually beneficial for who ? Not Xbox users for sure.
@Mambitos That's your crystal ball talking and where did I say that GTA belongs to Microsoft? 🤣
@Mambitos isn't it beneficial to xbox users if hi fi rush sees enough success to get a sequel? Something that would not happen as it was. Isn't it beneficial to xbox users when the increase in xbox revenue from the massive COD sales and other multiplat titles on playstation leads to more gamepass deals, bigger/better 1st party games, etc.?
@Banjo- as is yours mate
@Mambitos Why? I'm talking about the present, you're talking about how you think the future will be.
@BacklogBrad It would not happen as it was because MS cant bring on new users, having a strong exclusive catálog could have been a way to do that but multiplatform and every screen other than your TV unless its cloud its good
@Banjo- you say every year but this is 1st year with MS as a boss só yes you are talking also with your crystal ball
@Mambitos Minecraft was acquired in 2014, ten years ago and keeps topping the charts. So basically, what you are saying about Call of Duty is that it will suddenly stop selling millions because now it's owned by Microsoft...
@Banjo- Destiny 2 is also 10year old, yeah it Will wear off eventually. Well COD this year was passed by harry Potter so keep believing it.
@Mambitos not sure where you are going with this. You said it wasn't beneficial to xbox users but are now talking about people who do not own an xbox.
It also sounds like you might be assuming that all their games are going multiplatform. Xbox does still have a strong exclusive catalog and will maintain that.
@BacklogBrad We Will see about that rapidly when most of its users have migrated to other screens rather than your TV with Xbox hw. The games Will keep on leaking and you know it. And of course ive talked about people that do not own and Xbox since it is the hw that sells less of the the three console dealers, some thing has to BE done I guess.
@Mambitos My point is that Microsoft has continued the success of Minecraft for 10 years so far. Oh, you mean Modern Warfare III, a game that has nothing to do with Microsoft and that is one of the worst received (56-61/100 on Metacritic) in the whole series and that still managed to be a huge commercial success, #2 of the year, released at the end of the year?
@Banjo- @BacklogBrad The point is that they’re certainly not hinging their entire business model on how well these titles that they ve now.ported sell. That would be idiotic of them to put so much weight on a visual novel rpg, smaller scale action game and 2 community games.
This is just all simply training users to get accostumed to a potential future where multiplat form is normal. I dont agree with this and I Will take my money elsewhere.
Totoki talked about PC cloud and mobile not Xbox quite daydreaming
@Mambitos why exactly are they migrating to other platforms? Because pentiment is no longer part of their extensive exclusive library?
"1st party can be grown with multiplatform" playstation boss Hiroki Totoki
@theduckofdeath some were thinking it will play at 60fps too and the game isnt even on xbox one lol 😂
@Mambitos Hogwarts was released like 6-7 months before COD?
@GeorgeKal and you think that was the reason it won? This christmas HP obliterated.
@Banjo- the truth of the matter is yes, call of duty sales numbers will take a big hit because its now owned by Microsoft. The reason for this? Because it will eventually move to gamepass so those millions of people that bought a copy on xbox, no longer will.
Sure MS will get a sub but theres no guarantee that will be full price (offers, points, etc...) or, as a surprising number of folks only play the campaign, it will be a long term recurring payment.
MT's from the game will certainly bring in money as they always have, but it will always be less than previous editions in the end as they miss out on the initial lump payment for copies sold on top of those MT purchases.
@Mambitos obiusly? COD has more sales that the sales Hogwarts had at the same time so it makes sense it will end up with more sales. And even if it doesn't Hogwarts is a great Harry Potter game not a game with yearly release its not fair to compare those games anyway
@GeorgeKal Source? HP sold more this year than Cod or GTA some thing that dos not happen since 2007 or 2008
@Weebleman It would be a gamble to swell Game Pass numbers and keep them high, while attractive new people to the platform.
I have certainly had my doubts the MS would launch a new CoD into GP or even add the previous year's CoD, which continue to outsell most of everything. This is just about guaranteed to come with a $35 DLC/early-access upgrade package in Game Pass. More people will be inclined to jump on that with GP giving a feeling of being ahead of the game.
@theduckofdeath early access (or delayed release for others?) Is certainly something that could sway folks. The problem is that as most have built up a digital library on playstation this gen and the previous one, its very hard to get them to move away from that.
Folks who are fortunate enough to have all platforms and dont sub could be tempted, but its hard to say if they would want to. The additional problem is if they only buy the DLC/Early access they have to continue subbing to actually have the game. That makes it more expensive than just buying the game outright.
PS+ has higher subscription numbers than GP, but they are also hitting the same issues as MS in that they have basically stalled. Trying to get folks to add another sub on top is going to be challenging to say the least. Getting them to buy a new console and a sub even more so.
At the end of the day MS need to bring more people into their ecosystem. Its not impossible, just one hell of an uphill struggle.
This is probably the reason they are exploring 1st party titles on other consoles. Its all revenue and, while GP brings in hundreds of millions a month, all those studios they own likely use a significant amount of that budget (if not all) to develop games. COD alone is in the 100's of millions. When you look at everyone else they now have, the development budget alone is insane. Its pretty inevitable other games will move to other platforms when you consider this as simply put, its good business.
Part of me thinks this was always the plan when they bought these publishers. And lets be honest, these first 4 games have clearly been in development for some time for other platforms as they are all out within the next few months.
Sorry for the long reply, this was more appealing than doing my job 😂
Thanks for the reply, I'm in the same boat. 😄
At some point in the ABK trial, I would imagine most people came to terms with those games remaining multi-plat while MS reaped the earnings, for starters. ABK is not really part of the contention here, though the games media goes there first.
Rich on Digital Foundry had the most thoughtful examination of the situation. The other two were just off on their own fanciful desires, far to give any thought to the survival of Xbox the console. Being able to leverage the installed base of other platform-holders (consoles your company did not have to pay to produce) without deleterious effects to your own console is a fleeting dream.
PS is in a far better position to attempt this porting experiment than Xbox. They could do it without taking much of a hit to sales, the installed base is already high, and the right games would sell reasonably well. Xbox, on the contrarily, is doing this because of lagging sales, which will undoubtedly lag more severely after this.
@theduckofdeath Personally i think its only a matter of time before Sony do the same thing. Not sure we will see the likes of spiderman cross over, same as i dont think the likes of Forza or Halo will go the other way, but likes of Helldivers 2 and maybe Days Gone (which i loved, despite the bad press) would probably do well.
@Weebleman I, too, think Sony will (begrudgingly) do something similar to a different degree over time. Xbox is acting erratically. They just had a big Direct show and 2024 is FINALLY lined up for them to start firing on all cylinders. Then within a couple weeks they pull this. If this decision is tied to not moving enough consoles (let's be real) then be prepared to move even less consoles.
Their timing is horrendous. Get a few solid years in the bank first, just maybe? They seem to suffer from cognitive dissonance or something. If you saw a couple grand on raft in the middle of an alligator pond, would you try to get to it or just leave it be? LOL
Could be someone else (MS suits) is grabbing at the wheel while they drive down the highway.
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...