Xbox Game Pass Not Wanted by Other Console Makers, but Phil Spencer is Open to Discuss

Phil Spencer hasn’t been shy about his ambitions to expand the Xbox brand and Xbox Game Pass beyond Microsoft’s own hardware, and they’re already doing that with PC and mobile, but what about other consoles? Rumors about the Xbox App and Game Pass coming to Switch floated around a couple years ago, but nothing ever came of it. So, could it actually happen someday? Don’t count on it.

In a new interview with GamesRadar, Spencer indicated Game Pass probably isn’t coming to Switch or any other non-Microsoft console any time soon, for a simple reason – Nintendo and Sony don’t want it. For now, the focus will be on “open platforms” like PC, mobile, and browsers…

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You know, it’s the right question because people usually ask me about releasing one individual game or another. And what I say is I want the full Xbox experience to be something that we deliver. We have no plans to bring  [the Xbox App] to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don’t want something like Xbox Game Pass. There’s a ton of open platforms out there for us to grow in:  the web, PC, and mobile. So all of our focus, frankly, is on those platforms.

That’s not a slam on anybody else who has a system that works for them. I can see why the disruption of Game Pass is not something that they want right now. […] In the end, when we say we want everybody to be able to play on Xbox, we really mean if we can bring that full experience to a device that players want, we are totally open to those discussions.

Not too surprising. I’m sure Spencer would love to have Xbox Game Pass on Switch and PS5, but console makers derive all their money from the control they exert over their platforms, and they don’t want Phil messing with that. Maybe that will change some day, but right now Nintendo and Sony are doing more than fine and Microsoft isn’t in a position to exert any pressure on them.

What do you think? Will you be playing Game Pass on Switch someday, or are Phil Spencer’s grand plans just a bit too ambitious?