Good morning and buckle up, folks: We’re leaping onto the rumor mill today. As more and more news about the Nintendo Switch 2 emerges as its anticipated announcement approaches, a video game podcaster named NateTheHate has claimed that both Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are coming to the Switch 2 and PlayStation 5. NateTheHate has been correct numerous times in the past regarding upcoming games, but we encourage you to take this news with the proper amount of skepticism. The idea of an Xbox title on the Switch 2 is somewhat far-fetched, especially since we still have no clear picture of the console’s specs.
However, the Switch 2 might not need the onboard hardware to power titles like this. Xbox made an announcement in February 2024 to bring more of its games to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo, including Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded. The idea is that the Nintendo Switch 2 could work with cloud game streaming; by providing an interface, gamers could play titles through the cloud that the Switch would not be able to handle on its own. Considering the demanding specifications of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, streaming is the only practical answer for how Nintendo’s portable console could handle the game.
Of course, not everything has panned out as expected. For example, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launched as an Xbox exclusive amid a wave of rumors that it would also come to the PlayStation 5. Xbox’s decisions are transforming the company into more of a publisher than a producer. Fans and critics alike have asked whether Xbox will continue to be a console or whether it will simply become a platform for cloud gaming, similar to Nvidia’s GeForce Now.
If Microsoft does bring these games to Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, the decision will benefit players and make these noteworthy titles all the more accessible. The Nintendo Switch 2 will be backward compatible with Switch games, although it isn’t clear whether that will be hardware-compatible (in other words, whether cartridges will work) or if it will only have digital backward compatibility. With more and more consoles taking a digital-only approach, it’s possible the next Xbox console — and, in turn, the Nintendo Switch 2 — could simply be a set-top streaming box versus something with a disc drive or cartridge slot.