Xbox Game Pass on Switch 2 would be a total game changer

Xbox Game Pass on Nintendo Switch 2 is something I’ve begun to dream about, but as exciting as the prospect is, it comes with a bittersweet realization, too.

As I get older and life’s responsibilities eat away more of my time, I’ve come to terms with my gaming backlog being something I’ll never fully clear. However, the Nintendo Switch offered me a way to at least make a dent in it. The Switch was the first portable console that allowed me to play home console-quality games on the move – or more often; when the home TV was already in use.

Sure, the Switch wasn’t as powerful as the PS4, Xbox One, and later the PS5 and Series X|S, but I didn’t need it to be. And while I love first-party Nintendo and brand-new games, I’m a sucker for a remaster of an older game that’s been on my backlog for years.

A portable remaster machine

The Switch gets flak for being a portable remaster machine, but actually, it’s what I love most about it. It helps me get through my backlog and I hope the Switch 2 continues this trend. Of course, new IPs are exciting, but a more powerful Switch means better remasters, too.

The news that Microsoft could bring their own first-party franchises like Halo to the console is also a tantalizing prospect. It’s comparable to Sonic the Hedgehog games coming to Nintendo consoles back in the GameCube days.

Then I consider a future where Microsoft allows its Xbox Game Pass service to come to the Switch 2 and it just gets better and better. Yes, I’m jumping the gun here and no such announcement has been made, but in a world where Halo comes to Nintendo, is such a prospect really that far-fetched?

From my point of view, it’s just the next natural evolution of that partnership. As someone constantly swimming against the current as my backlog balloons, having my Xbox games on a portable console would be my lifeboat.

I see friends enjoying this already on handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally, and my finger has hovered over the purchase button several times. But something has kept me from completing that transaction: the hope that the Switch 2 will offer the same.

Xbox and Nintendo forming an alliance would shake up the entire industry. The Switch 2 is bound to be much more mainstream than the ROG Ally, and a portable Game Pass device in so many hands could be a boon for both companies – not to mention something Sony would struggle to counter.

Remote play exists through devices like the Backbone and PlayStation Portal, but let’s stop pretending that streaming is on par with native play. Maybe one day, but in 2025, I still find it awkward and laggy.

While Game Pass and the Nintendo Switch 2 could be a match made in heaven, it would also raise questions about the future of the Xbox brand. As it evolves into more of a service than a series of consoles, does it even need the “box” part anymore?

The future of Xbox

The Xbox brand is much more than Game Pass. It’s all Microsoft’s first-party games too, and this now includes Activision Blizzard and many other formerly third-party developers. Even if they did exit the console war and became something more nebulous, it’s still a force to be reckoned with, and any console with access to its library would be too. Even more so if there is exclusivity.

However, the Switch 2 is unlikely to match anything PlayStation releases in terms of power and visual fidelity, so perhaps this idea is going too far. The Switch 2 and PC likely wouldn’t be enough to sustain Xbox.

But, it’s something to consider – and that could one day come true. The prospect of Xbox “doing a Sega” and exiting the console race to become something arguably more significant would be a sad day too.

Just like Nintendo and PlayStation, Xbox consoles bring their own unique flavor to the market, and I’d hate to live in a world without it. My little Series S looks slick next to my PS5, but the fact that I chose that console makes me feel the need to admit that my relationship with Xbox has changed.

I do value their exclusive games and the Game Pass service above all else, and if they added it to third-party devices like the Switch 2, I’d inevitably follow. As bittersweet as such a day would be, closer alignment between Xbox and Nintendo is a positive, as well as helping me chip away at my ever-growing backlog.