As pointed out by Phil Spencer during Xbox’s business update, four previously exclusive Xbox titles will be coming to other platforms. He was unable to name them that day, having stated that announcement deals were previously put in place. Around the same time, a rumored Nintendo Direct was stated to have been pushed which seemed to line up with the idea that Nintendo would announce some.
As it turns out, Nintendo has confirmed two of the rumored titles during the direct, though not necessarily the two we all thought. Starting the event, Nintendo showcased Grounded a live-service-esque RPG from developer Obsidian.
Grounded, which takes inspiration from Honey I Shrunk The Kids, revolves around players being shrunk down by an evil corporation and having a big adventure in their backyard. Able to be played solo or in a group, players must contend with enemies such as bugs and spiders as they attempt to explore daunting locations like a sandbox or playground set to return to full size.
While not receiving as big a showcase, Pentiment, another Obsidion game that was rumored for switch release was also showcased. It was featured in a sizzle reel of smaller-scale games that are coming to the system but was announced to be released on the Switch tomorrow.
Both of these games were rumored to be among the four games getting ported beyond the Xbox, leading to the credibility that the other two games to be announced will be Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves. With Hi-Fi Rush being a breakout title from Tango Gameworks that managed to be a major contender during award season despite being a stealth-dropped game, I would have expected it to be among the first announced but I’m sure it’s coming soon.
These rumored releases have suggested that beyond Switch, which Microsoft has had a decent relationship with in the past, these titles will also be coming to the PlayStation 5. Despite their showcase here, there has been no confirmation as of yet if these games will be ported to a PlayStation or not.
Grounded is set to release on Nintendo Switch on April 16th, 2024.
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