Xbox boss Phil Spencer reiterates Switch 2 support: ‘I’m a big believer in Nintendo’

Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, has reiterated his intention to support Nintendo Switch 2 with Xbox game franchises.

Switch 2 was fully unveiled earlier this month. Although no Xbox games were present at the unveiling, Xbox is reportedly prepping multiple releases, including Diablo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Microsoft Flight Simulator. Activision has also committed to releasing Call of Duty games on Switch 2.

Speaking in a new interview with Variety, Spencer reiterated his intention to support Switch 2, stating that he was “a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry”.

“We’ve been supporting Switch 1, I want to support Switch 2,” he said. “Nintendo has been a great partner. We think it is a unique way for us to reach players who aren’t PC players, who aren’t players on Xbox. It lets us continue to grow our community of people that care about the franchises that we have, and that’s really important for us to make sure we continue to invest in our games.

“I’m really a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry and us continuing to support them. And getting the support from them for our franchises, I think, is an important part of our future.”

Asked if Nintendo’s unveiling made him “antsy” to share Xbox’s own next-gen hardware plans, Spencer said he was focused on “our communities and the player base that we’re building.”

“I get inspired by what a lot of different creators do and other platform holders,” he replied. “But I believe in the plans that we have. Obviously, we’re evolving what it means to be Xbox and meeting players in so many different places. There are 3 billion people who play video games on the planet and I get up every morning and think about how Xbox can be more relevant to the 3 billion people who play.

“And that’s through making sure we’re leading in how our games and our platform features can be available in as many places as possible, whether that’s Cloud, whether it’s people playing on PC, whether it’s people playing on console. So we’re really driven by trying to grow our franchises and our platform to be an important part of gaming for as many of those 3 billion gamers as we can reach.”

Speaking to Gamertag Radio in January, Spencer confirmed Xbox would be supporting Switch 2, and said he’d exchanged messages with Nintendo’s president following its initial teaser announcement.

“I was exchanging emails with Furukawa-san, the CEO of Nintendo. I gave him a big congrats and said my old eyes appreciate the larger screen,” he said.

“Nintendo, their innovation, and what they mean in this industry… I just always applaud the moves that they make. They did a little flash video, and I know we’ll get more detail over time. I’m really looking forward to supporting them with the games that we have, and I just think they’re a really important part of this industry.”