Nintendo and Microsoft are direct competitors in the video game business.
But the two companies have been working together in recent years, and the depth of that relationship has grown substantially in the last 12 months.
Between a push into cross-play gaming and ongoing “Minecraft” support on Nintendo platforms, it's clear that walls are breaking down in the video game industry.
Nintendo and Microsoft directly compete in the video game business, so why are they becoming so friendly?
The answer is surprisingly simple: Because they've realized how mutually beneficial it is to work together while Sony's PlayStation — the sales leader by a longshot — looks like an old coot.
The last 12 months in particular have seen the two companies repeatedly come together on major initiatives.
Here's a walkthrough of their blossoming relationship:
1. “Minecraft” is where this all started.
Microsoft has owned “Minecraft” since 2014 — the result of a historic $2.5 billion acquisition deal. But despite that high price tag, Microsoft didn't lock away the game as an exclusive.
Instead, the game has remained on nearly every platform — with ongoing support from Microsoft.
It was the first sign of Microsoft moving past the old dividing lines in the video game business that traditionally kept certain games locked to one platform or another.
So it used to go: “Halo” is only on Xbox consoles, “Uncharted” is only on PlayStation consoles, and “Mario” is only on Nintendo consoles.
But “Minecraft” represented an easing off of that old standard. Microsoft makes “Minecraft” for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, OS X, iOS, and Android.
Moreover, Microsoft used “Minecraft” as a means of breaking down those barriers ever further: The “Better Together” update introduced the ability for “Minecraft” players across all platforms to play together — including Nintendo's Switch.
2. “Better Together.”
Games like “Call of Duty,” “Overwatch,” and “Minecraft” are functionally identical across platforms. Why shouldn't I be able to play “Overwatch” on Xbox One with my friend on PlayStation 4?
The reason, of course, is business.
Sony's in the lead by a large margin, and has no real incentive — financially — to work with Microsoft on making games work between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
But Nintendo? That's a different story.
As of June 2018, Nintendo Switch “Minecraft” players are able to play with their friends on Xbox One and every other “Minecraft” platform…except for PlayStation 4.
Nintendo and Microsoft even released a commercial together:
Through “Minecraft,” Microsoft implemented a limited form of its Xbox Live service on the Nintendo Switch. After launching the game, you could sign in with your Xbox Live account.
But Microsoft is taking that another full step forward with outright Xbox Live integration on a system level for the Nintendo Switch. That means you could earn Achievements, access your Xbox Live friends list, and other functionality tied to Xbox Live.
“Xbox Live is about to get MUCH bigger,” a panel description said. “Xbox Live is expanding from 400M gaming devices and a reach to over 68M active players to over 2B devices with the release of our new cross-platform XDK. Get a first look at the [software development kit] to enable game developers to connect players between iOS, Android, and Switch in addition to Xbox and any game in the Microsoft Store on Windows PCs.”
This is the kind of move that can only happen with cooperation from Nintendo — notably, Sony's PlayStation 4 is absent from Microsoft's list.
But why would Nintendo allow Xbox Live on the Nintendo Switch? One particularly notable reason is that Microsoft created a gold standard in online game with Xbox Live. If Microsoft's willing to implement Xbox Live for various games, it offers Nintendo Switch a suite of services — voice chat, friends list, achievements, and more — that are otherwise less great on Nintendo's console.
Microsoft gets to sign up new Xbox Live users, and Nintendo gets a well-respected service with limited control on its popular game platform — it's a win-win.
4. Microsoft is publishing games other than “Minecraft” on the Switch, like “Hellblade,” and “Cuphead” is no longer an Xbox exclusive.
Microsoft spent billions to acquire “Minecraft,” only to continue supporting it as a multi-platform game.
Though billions presumably weren't spent on British studio Ninja Theory, Microsoft did indeed acquire the company not so long ago — which is why it's a bit strange to see one of Ninja Theory's games, “Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice,” announced as coming to the Nintendo Switch.
The same could be said for “Cuphead,” a major Xbox exclusive game that was at least partially funded by Microsoft — it's headed to the Nintendo Switch in the near future.
Both are signs of Microsoft's continued flexibility with Xbox when it comes to Nintendo's platforms.
5. Microsoft's Netflix-like Game Pass service is rumored to come to the Switch.
A small sampling of the voluminous Xbox Game Pass library, which offers subscribers access to over 100 games for a single monthly price.
One of Microsoft's biggest plays in the last few years has been Xbox Game Pass, a monthly subscription service that offers access to a growing library of Xbox games.
The service has been a big hit with Xbox owners — every game published by Microsoft, for example, is available on Game Pass at launch. The next major “Halo” or “Forza” game will show up on Game Pass on day one. That's a pretty major move!
And it sounds like that service could end up on Nintendo's Switch console in some form or another. Rumors point to the service potentially coming to the Nintendo Switch — albeit as a part of Microsoft's still-in-development game streaming service, currently known as “Project xCloud.”
Neither Microsoft nor Nintendo responded to these rumors back when they were reported in February.
One of the biggest games in the world is being turned into a feature film: The “Minecraft” movie is expected to arrive in 2022.
The movie was announced way back in 2016, originally with a planned 2019 launch.
The movie follows “the story of a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers.” Presumably they will do some mining and some crafting along the way.
The biggest game in the world is becoming a movie — but not justyet.
A film version of “Minecraft” is planned for release in 2022, according to Microsoft, and it's got the director of “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist” behind the helm, Peter Sollett.
But what is a “Minecraft” movie even about? We're talking about a game where you mine resources and build stuff with those resources — there's not much of a narrative to hang your hat on.
According to Microsoft, the “Minecraft” movie follows, “the story of a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers.”
More specifically, the plot revolves around a “malevolent Ender Dragon” that's out to destroy the “Overworld” — the name for the main world in “Minecraft.” It's up to that group of friends to stop the dragon and save their world.
It sounds like things are still pretty early in production, despite plans for this movie being originally announced way back in 2016.
Outside of the director, general plot, and release date — March 4, 2022 specifically — it remains to be seen what type of movie “Minecraft” becomes. One thing's for sure: By the time we find out, it'll be a whole new decade.
Many people around the world watched in sorrow as France's most prominent cathedral, Notre Dame, was significantly damaged by fire last night. Luckily many of the building's artifacts and artworks were able to be rescued, and the cathedral's main structure was saved despite the loss of the roof and spire. While the French government has pledged to rebuild the cathedral, the Minecraftcommunity is making sure the cathedral lives on in the virtual world with many community members paying tribute. The cathedral has been a source of inspiration for many players, and some shared their replica builds to make sure the cathedral lives on in the game:
People around the world have pledged to help to rebuild the cathedral, but while the damage is still being fully assessed, tributes continue to pour in from all directions. The Minecraft community will continue to remember the building in their own way.
We've got the full list of Minecraft achievements – check the list for guides to unlocking them.
Microsoft has announced plans to release its upcoming Minecraft movie in 2022, partnering with Warner Bros. for a live-action feature based on the hit voxel-adventure game. While initially slated to launch on May 24, 2019, the three-year delay follows some turbulent years, now securing new director Peter Sollett.
Taking to the Minecraft blog, franchise creator Mojang has committed to a firm launch for the movie, slated for March 4, 2022. Always Sunny In Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney has departed his directorial role, succeeded by Peter Sollett, best known for 2008 comedy-drama, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Microsoft has also provided a brief synopsis of the live-action project, as detailed below:
So, what do you have to look forward to, roughly 25,000 hours from now? Well, as you devour your movie snack of choice (we like a suspicious stew with a side of square watermelon), we'll tell you the story of a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers. After the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, they must save their beautiful, blocky Overworld.
While Minecraft's mindshare has fallen in recent years, the blocky-builder remains a monolith for Microsoft. “Minecraft: Story Mode” has already experimented with a deeper story-driven experience, while upcoming dungeon-crawler “Minecraft: Dungeons” aims to spin the seriesinto a new action-oriented direction.
In the meantime, Minecraft just hit Xbox Game Pass, the Netflix-style subscription service for Xbox One gaming. Priced at a $10 flat monthly fee, the service grants access to over 200 titles in early 2019.
Microsoft has revealed plans to bring the Xbox Live online video game platform to the Nintendo Switch, Apple's iOS, and Android devices.
Details were included in the description of an upcoming panel hosted by Microsoft at the 2019 Game Developers Conference.
Expanding Xbox Live services would allow gamers to stay connected regardless of whether they're using a video game console or a smartphone, which has been a longstanding barrier in the industry.
Microsoft has revealed plans to bring its Xbox Live video gaming platform to the Nintendo Switch, Apple's iOS, and Android devices, an effort that will connect players across different devices and bring Xbox games to a new audience.
The tech giant's plans were revealed ahead of the 2019 Game Developers Conference (GDC), an annual gathering of video game professionals happening in San Francisco next month. Microsoft is hosting a GDC panel titled “Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Community Across Platforms,” and the panel description on the GDC website teased specific details about Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming service expanding to new platforms.
The description has since been scrubbed from the website, but Windows Central has published the full text of the panel description.
“Xbox Live is about to get MUCH bigger. Xbox Live is expanding from 400M gaming devices and a reach to over 68M active players to over 2B devices with the release of our new cross-platform XDK,” the description for the GDC panel read. “Get a first look at the SDK to enable game developers to connect players between iOS, Android, and Switch in addition to Xbox and any game in the Microsoft Store on Windows PCs.”
Expanding Xbox Live services could be the spark of a shift in the gaming industry. Here's why it's meaningful:
Xbox Live is Microsoft's online gaming platform.
Last year Xbox teased a new peripheral to connect smartphones to an Xbox One controller.
Xbox Live encompasses the online components of Microsoft's video game services. Players use Xbox Live to connect and play games together, download new releases, build their own friend lists, voice chat, and share messages and video clips. Until now, Xbox Live has mostly been exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox One video game console and Windows computers.
The decision to bring Xbox Live to competing devices is a major change for the video game industry, where console makers are often battling for exclusivity and looking for new ways to get gamers invested in their hardware. But recently, Xbox has shown that it's willing to work alongside its competition.
“Minecraft” is one of the first Microsoft games to let Xbox and Nintendo Switch players play together. The game uses Microsoft accounts on the Nintendo Switch.
The Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft, Microsoft's best-selling game, let players join in with users on Xbox.
It was a rare cooperative effort for the two companies, but not the last – others popular games like “Fortnite” and “Rocket League” now let players communicate from different platforms, too.
As cross-platform play becomes more common, Microsoft says they want to make it easier for developers to keep their communities connected.
Microsoft wants to make it easier for developers to release games on multiple platforms.
“This will break down barriers for developers that want their communities to mingle more freely across platforms,” Microsoft's GDC panel description read. “Combined with PlayFab gaming services, this means less work for game developers and more time to focus on making games fun.”
Project xCloud, Microsoft's upcoming video game streaming service, could benefit from the expansion of Xbox Live
Microsoft executive Phil Spencer said Project xCloud's goal is to reach gamers on whatever device they choose to play on.
Expanding the reach of Xbox Live could benefit more of Microsoft's future gaming plans. Last year, Microsoft unveiled Project xCloud, a cloud gaming service that would stream high quality video games to smartphones and other devices. Microsoft executive Phil Spencer said Project xCloud's goal is to reach gamers on whatever device they choose to play on.
Bringing Xbox Live to more devices could introduce new users to the service and help Microsoft manage early expectations before Project xCloud is rolled out across multiple platforms. Public tests for the cloud gaming service are expected to start later this year.
Microsoft's panel on Xbox Live will be delivered during GDC 2019 from March 18 to 22; scheduling details are not yet final.
Nintendo and Microsoft are direct competitors in the video game business.
But the two companies have been working together in recent years, and the depth of that relationship has grown substantially in the last 12 months.
Between a push into cross-play gaming and ongoing “Minecraft” support on Nintendo platforms, it's clear that walls are breaking down in the video game industry.
Nintendo and Microsoft directly compete in the video game business, so why are they becoming so friendly?
The answer is surprisingly simple: Because they've realized how mutually beneficial it is to work together while Sony's PlayStation — the sales leader by a longshot — looks like an old coot.
The last 12 months in particular have seen the two companies repeatedly come together on major initiatives.
Here's a walkthrough of their blossoming relationship:
1. “Minecraft” is where this all started.
Microsoft has owned “Minecraft” since 2014 — the result of a historic $2.5 billion acquisition deal. But despite that high price tag, Microsoft didn't lock away the game as an exclusive.
Instead, the game has remained on nearly every platform — with ongoing support from Microsoft.
It was the first sign of Microsoft moving past the old dividing lines in the video game business that traditionally kept certain games locked to one platform or another.
So it used to go: “Halo” is only on Xbox consoles, “Uncharted” is only on PlayStation consoles, and “Mario” is only on Nintendo consoles.
But “Minecraft” represented an easing off of that old standard. Microsoft makes “Minecraft” for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, OS X, iOS, and Android.
Moreover, Microsoft used “Minecraft” as a means of breaking down those barriers ever further: The “Better Together” update introduced the ability for “Minecraft” players across all platforms to play together — including Nintendo's Switch.
2. “Better Together.”
Games like “Call of Duty,” “Overwatch,” and “Minecraft” are functionally identical across platforms. Why shouldn't I be able to play “Overwatch” on Xbox One with my friend on PlayStation 4?
The reason, of course, is business.
Sony's in the lead by a large margin, and has no real incentive — financially — to work with Microsoft on making games work between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
But Nintendo? That's a different story.
As of June 2018, Nintendo Switch “Minecraft” players are able to play with their friends on Xbox One and every other “Minecraft” platform…except for PlayStation 4.
Nintendo and Microsoft even released a commercial together:
Through “Minecraft,” Microsoft implemented a limited form of its Xbox Live service on the Nintendo Switch. After launching the game, you could sign in with your Xbox Live account.
But Microsoft is taking that another full step forward with outright Xbox Live integration on a system level for the Nintendo Switch. That means you could earn Achievements, access your Xbox Live friends list, and other functionality tied to Xbox Live.
“Xbox Live is about to get MUCH bigger,” a panel description said. “Xbox Live is expanding from 400M gaming devices and a reach to over 68M active players to over 2B devices with the release of our new cross-platform XDK. Get a first look at the [software development kit] to enable game developers to connect players between iOS, Android, and Switch in addition to Xbox and any game in the Microsoft Store on Windows PCs.”
This is the kind of move that can only happen with cooperation from Nintendo — notably, Sony's PlayStation 4 is absent from Microsoft's list.
But why would Nintendo allow Xbox Live on the Nintendo Switch? One particularly notable reason is that Microsoft created a gold standard in online game with Xbox Live. If Microsoft's willing to implement Xbox Live for various games, it offers Nintendo Switch a suite of services — voice chat, friends list, achievements, and more — that are otherwise less great on Nintendo's console.
Microsoft gets to sign up new Xbox Live users, and Nintendo gets a well-respected service with limited control on its popular game platform — it's a win-win.
4. Microsoft is publishing games other than “Minecraft” on the Switch, like “Hellblade,” and “Cuphead” is no longer an Xbox exclusive.
Microsoft spent billions to acquire “Minecraft,” only to continue supporting it as a multi-platform game.
Though billions presumably weren't spent on British studio Ninja Theory, Microsoft did indeed acquire the company not so long ago — which is why it's a bit strange to see one of Ninja Theory's games, “Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice,” announced as coming to the Nintendo Switch.
The same could be said for “Cuphead,” a major Xbox exclusive game that was at least partially funded by Microsoft — it's headed to the Nintendo Switch in the near future.
Both are signs of Microsoft's continued flexibility with Xbox when it comes to Nintendo's platforms.
5. Microsoft's Netflix-like Game Pass service is rumored to come to the Switch.
A small sampling of the voluminous Xbox Game Pass library, which offers subscribers access to over 100 games for a single monthly price.
One of Microsoft's biggest plays in the last few years has been Xbox Game Pass, a monthly subscription service that offers access to a growing library of Xbox games.
The service has been a big hit with Xbox owners — every game published by Microsoft, for example, is available on Game Pass at launch. The next major “Halo” or “Forza” game will show up on Game Pass on day one. That's a pretty major move!
And it sounds like that service could end up on Nintendo's Switch console in some form or another. Rumors point to the service potentially coming to the Nintendo Switch — albeit as a part of Microsoft's still-in-development game streaming service, currently known as “Project xCloud.”
Neither Microsoft nor Nintendo responded to these rumors back when they were reported in February.
