Today’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase confirmed two first-party Xbox games will be released on Nintendo Switch very soon: Grounded and Pentiment.
This isn’t too surprising as Microsoft has not only brought some of its exclusives to Nintendo‘s platform before, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer said not too long ago there are plans to release four Xbox games on other platforms. Plus, Grounded and Pentiment were widely assumed to be two of them.
For the uninitiated, Grounded and Pentiment come from Obsidian Entertainment, the studio responsible for RPGs like The Outer Worlds and the upcoming Avowed. Grounded is a survival game that sees you shrunk down to the size of an ant and forced to fend for yourself in your backyard. Pentiment, meanwhile, is much more akin to Obsidian’s RPGs but is primarily a story-driven adventure set in the 16th century, where your custom background, skills, and dialogue options affect how you solve a mysterious murder.
If you’re a Switch owner who has ever wanted to try out either of these games, you’ll be pleased to know they’ll be out soon. Grounded launches on April 16, whereas Pentiment drops tomorrow on Feb. 22.
As for what the other two Xbox titles to be ported to Switch could be, they are generally assumed to be Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush; Microsoft simply hasn’t officially confirmed this for itself. It’s also believed all four games will make the jump to PlayStation, but there’s so far no mention of a PlayStation release date for Grounded and Pentiment. The idea of prominent Xbox exclusives coming to PlayStation may sound shocking, but Microsoft has expressed eagerness to make its games more widely available. But the same can’t be said for Xbox Game Pass.
Overall, the Partner Showcase was a fairly solid showing, with plenty of third-party titles to look forward to. Still, some fans will be more eager for a full-fledged first-party Direct that tackles Nintendo’s own exclusives and/or lifts the lid on the long-rumored Nintendo Switch 2.
