First things first, you read that headline right, Microsoft has officially announced that they are planning on bringing their Xbox Live service to the Nintendo Switch, as well as iOS and Android devices.
The news comes from a description for the upcoming Game Developers Conference session — that will be taking place from Monday the 18th of March until Friday the 22nd of March — where Microsoft's session is titled Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Community Across iOS, Android, Switch, Xbox, and PC (Presented by Microsoft.)
The rest of the description reads as follows:
"Xbox Live players are highly engaged and active on Xbox and PC, but now they can take their gaming achievement history, their friends list, their clubs, and more with them to almost every screen."
Microsoft's presentation will reveal more details about this, almost unbelievable, expansion so — aside from the title of their conference — we don't really know exactly how they plan on expanding their connectivity; especially on the Nintendo Switch, as Mircosoft doesn't mention anything about games but suggests that there's more to be revealed.
The reason this is so interesting is because Xbox Live on iOS and Android devices could be played off as a new app that players can carry with them at all times. While the same could be said about the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo's handheld hybrid console is, well, a console and not a mobile device.
Nintendo and Microsoft have lately been collaborating more than they ever have in the past, and Xbox Live becoming available for the Nintendo Switch could mean a lot of things that could definitely end up benefitting both companies in the long run. So, maybe considering both companies sharing first-party titles isn't too far-fetched of an idea.
Since more information will be released at the GDC taking place in March, we'll just have to wait and see exactly what Xbox Live coming to the Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS means for players. Regardless, the fact that they are even considering expanding to other platforms is great news.
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