The rumors were true: Cuphead is indeed heading to the Nintendo Switch, along with Xbox Live support. The game, one of Microsoft's most critically acclaimed exclusives, hits Nintendo's hybrid on April 18.
Nintendo and Microsoft made the announcement on Wednesday during the Nindies Showcase, which focused on indie titles coming to the Switch throughout 2019.
Cuphead On Nintendo Switch
In the promo reel, Nintendo thanked both Cuphead developer Studio MDHR and "our friends at Microsoft." This should come as no surprise — over the past year, the two have been particularly convivial, the result of which was cross-platform play on Minecraft for Switch and, soon, Xbox Live support, too.
Rumors in February suggested Microsoft would bring its GamePass and Project xCloud services to the console, along with releasing a handful of Microsoft-published games to the eShop.
Cuphead coming to the Switch is a major development of these two companies' collaborative relationship, especially since, along with Sony, this trio are typically seen as rivals. Although the Switch technically has "home console" specs, Nintendo all but relinquished its true home console efforts after the Wii U failed massively. As Nintendo continues to conquer the handheld market, Sony and Microsoft are left to butt heads with their respective home consoles.
As such, Nintendo is currently an ideal situation where it enjoys a market all to its own, allowing it to step away from the fierce rivalry of the remaining two, and at the same time work with one of them, in this case Microsoft.
Nintendo Switch Nindies
In that regard, Cuphead may not be the last Microsoft exclusive heading to Nintendo's console. There are rumors that Ori and the Blind Forest, another critically acclaimed Xbox One and PC exclusive, is due for a Switch port. Arriving or not, the Switch players will still have a ton of indies to enjoy, including new ones featured in the Nindies Showcase.
There's a Blaster Master Zero sequel, co-op action game Nuclear Throne, intense platformer Katana Zero, survival horror title Darkwood, a game called My Friend Pedro where players shoot around bad guys as a sentient banana, a Crypt of the NecroDancer and The Legend of Zelda crossover called Cadence of Hyrule, and so much more. Watch the presentation to see all of these in action.
