Summary
The first major gaming discourse of 2024 has taken place, and it only took a grand total of eight days to happen. At the start of this week, a rumor hit the internet that current Xbox-exclusiveHi-Fi Rushcould be heading to Nintendo Switch consoles in the near future. Shadow-dropped out of nowhere at the start of 2023 duringXbox’s Developer Direct,Hi-Fi Rushwas unlike anything Tango Gameworks has ever done before, but it was this bundle of surprises - along with its excellent rhythm-based gameplay and eye-popping cel-shaded visuals - that madeHi-Fi Rushsuch a shockingly great time.
But, of course, as all discussions surrounding console exclusives tend to devolve, this simple rumor quickly became the first big gaming discourse of the year. On one side of the fence, many Xbox fans despised the idea of “losing” one of their few admittedly few exclusives to another console, but on the other side of the fence, many Xbox fans thought this made complete sense, withHi-Fi Rushreleasing almost a whole year ago now. But regardless of the discourse,Hi-Fi Rushcoming to Nintendo Switch would be a pretty major power play for Xbox Game Pass.
Hi-Fi Rush Coming to Switch Would Be a Win-Win for Xbox Game Pass
Hi-Fi Rush Could Reach a Whole New Audience on Nintendo Switch
Released on July 20, 2025, it’s been almost a whole year sinceHi-Fi Rush’s Xbox Game Pass release. It seems pretty fair to say, then, that every Xbox player who wanted to giveHi-Fi Rusha go already has, especially with it being on Xbox Game Pass since day one. With this in mind, it seems to only make complete sense that Xbox would want to portHi-Fi Rushto the Nintendo Switch, where the game would fit in undeniably well thanks to its upbeat tone, strikingly bright visuals, and intuitive pick-up-and-play gameplay.
As of September 2023, the Nintendo Switch family of consoles had sold over 132 million units worldwide. This is a major slice of the current gaming market, and it’s a slice that Xbox has repeatedly and openly talked about desiring a little crumb of. While Nintendo might not be ready to putXbox Game Pass on the Switchjust yet, it seems like it would welcomeHi-Fi Rushwith open arms, and even if only a small sliver of the console’s 132 million users bought the game, that would still be much more money thanHi-Fi Rushis currently making on Xbox right now a year after release.
Xbox Game Pass Would Remain the Best Place to Play Hi-Fi Rush
But there’s a potential second, more hidden benefit toHi-Fi Rushcoming to Nintendo Switch.Hi-Fi Rushisn’t the most graphically intensive game, but its rhythm-based gameplay does require the best performance possible. And while the Nintendo Switch is definitely capable of delivering 60fps, that usually comes with a sizable downgrade in visuals. With its cel-shaded art style,Hi-Fi Rushwould probably still look great on the Switch even with a major downgrade in graphics, but the inherent fact is that it wouldn’t run as well on Switch as it would on a beefier Xbox Series X.
It’s more than possible that Nintendo Switch users could giveHi-Fi Rusha go at launch, realize it’s great, but want to play it in the best way possible. And the best way to playHi-Fi Rushwould be with an Xbox, withXbox Game Pass, potentially increasing the service’s sales numbers by a not insignificant amount. But regardless of whether Switch users hopped over to Xbox, at the very least, the more eyes that are onHi-Fi Rush, the more credibility it adds to Xbox Game Pass, showing just what type of experiences the service can offer.
Hi-Fi Rush
WHERE TO PLAY
Feel the beat as wannabe rockstar Chai and his ragtag team of allies rebel against an evil robotics enhancement megacorp with raucous rhythm combat! From Tango Gameworks, the studio that brought you The Evil Within® and Ghostwire®: Tokyo (no, really) comes Hi-Fi RUSH, an all-new action game where the characters, world and combat stylishly sync to the music!CHAI VERSUS THE WORLD: Labeled ‘defective’ after a shady corporate experiment mistakenly fuses a music player to his heart, Chai must now fight for his freedom in a slick animated world where everything – platforming puzzles, enemy attacks and even the colorful gags & banter - are synced to the beat.OPEN UP THE MOSH PIT!: Take on armies of corporate drones (read: actual robots) in satisfying, rhythm-amplified combat. Time your moves to pull off flashy Beat Hits, hard-hitting special abilities and even combination attacks with your allies! Want to show off? Go further and tap into the beat to amp up your skills and earn those covetous S-rank scores.ROWDY REBELS VS. BADASS BOSSES: Lead a squad of colorful teammates and take the fight to the heart of an, er, heartless corporation. Square off with each department’s boss, from Production to Marketing to Finance, each more ready to protect the company’s bottom line than the last in over-the-top battle sequences accompanied by their own music tracks!GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES: Tap your toes to a killer mixtape of original music, as well as songs by Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Joy Formidable and more! Want to show off your skills to a live streaming audience? Fret not: Hi-Fi RUSH includes a streamer-friendly alternate audio mode which replaces those licensed songs with original tracks made especially for streaming Hi-Fi RUSH.
