Minecraft is getting a big new update soon that unifies it across most platforms (except for PlayStation devices). As a result, Minecraft players on Nintendo Switch will be able to play with those on Xbox One or PC. One of the interesting consequences of this new, unified platform is that Nintendo Switch owners will have to log into Xbox Live to play the game online.
Head of Xbox confirmed the news today while speaking on the Giant Bomb E3 2017 live show. In a discussion about cross-platform play, Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann asked about logging in, and Spencer replied that it'll be the same system across all devices. “It's an Xbox Live account; that's our gaming social network,” he said.
“We use Xbox Live as the way to make sure we know who our players are, controls around parental controls and other things that we put into our platform are there. And as you're buying things in Minecraft, you want to make sure you have them available on other platforms, so we have to know who you are. If you have a realm that you've created on the PC and you want to get to it on the Switch, we have to have an identity system and we just use Xbox Live.”
Gerstmann also asked if players will be able to earn Achievements. “I don't know yet,” he replied. “I'm guessing no. And this is a collaborative relationship between Nintendo and I; they don't have Achievements on their platform. If they want us to, I would love to be able to do it… The relationship with Nintendo is incredibly strong. We obviously did the Mario mash-up pack into Minecraft; that doesn't happen that often.”
During the livestream, Spencer also discussed how he has played 700 hours of Destiny. You can check out more news from Microsoft from E3 2017 here, and read more about updates coming to Minecraft here. Keep checking GameSpot's E3 2017 hub; the conference isn't done yet, and there's still more news and impressions coming tomorrow.
Nintendo E3 2017: Minecraft On Switch Requires An Xbox Live Log-In