Nintendo and Microsoft have one of the most remarkable relationships in the games industry, and they could be getting even tighter. With a number of rumors flurrying around the internet, Microsoft may be bringing a few of their former exclusives to Nintendo’s console.
On August 16, Nintendo announced an “Indie World” presentation, which will feature twenty minutes’ worth of game announcements from independent developers. This isn’t the first time that Nintendo has held such a showcase. They’ve presented numerous Direct livestreams full of indie news in the past, some of which have featured massive announcements. Most notably, a similar presentation released in March revealed that Microsoft’s former exclusive Cuphead was coming to Switch.
Now rumors are circulating that Microsoft may want to put a few more big games on Nintendo’s hybrid wonder. Ever since the start of this year, there have been rumors of games like Ori and the Blind Forest and Halo: The Master Chief Collection coming to Switch. With the upcoming Indie World showcase, such rumblings have resurfaced.
Industry insider Daniel Ahmad, an analyst who’s worked extensively in the East Asian market, suggests that these rumors may be true after all. He posted the following on his Twitter account:
We're going to see another Microsoft / Xbox first game at the IndieWorld Direct on Monday.
So far we've had Minecraft, Cuphead and Super Lucky's Tale that have been Xbox exclusives come to Switch.
If you've been following rumors/leaks you can probably guess this one. https://t.co/hXrDJb1XxW
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 17, 2019
He is most likely referring to Ori, which seems like a safe announcement for the Indie World showcase. If the Master Chief Collection is indeed coming to Switch as well, it almost certainly won’t be announced in this presentation. Instead, it would most likely show up in a general Nintendo Direct at a later date.
It won’t be long to wait to see if some of these rumors come to fruition. The Indie World showcase will livestream on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel on Monday, August 19.