Almost two months ago, Phil Spencer - the head of Xbox - appeared in a Microsoft stream, and in that stream, he had a shelf. That might not sound like a big deal, but in the past, Phil's used his shelves to tease, or even coyly reveal, various Xbox surprises - like the Xbox Series S, which he had on his bookshelf long before the official reveal. Bethesda big dog Todd Howard even took a page out of Phil's book back in September 2020, teasing the new Indiana Jones game with a relic on his shelf.

So, when Phil appeared on a stream, eagle-eyed investigative fans scoured his shelves for anything they could find. Two items stood out: a Kojima Productions Ludens figure, and a Nintendo Switch. At the time, we said nothing - we're not about to spin a whole news piece out of a video game company boss enjoying the video games of other companies - but, as time passed, the Switch started to seem like maybe it was a hint, too.

Phil Spencer on the stream
The shelf in question, with the Nintendo Switch on the top shelf

In a recent podcast for GamesBeat, journalist Jeff Grubb stated that "pretty much everything" on Phil's shelves meant something, including the Nintendo Switch. Likewise, a well-known and (according to Reddit) semi-reputable leaker named "Shpeshal Ed" said that the "cat seems to be out of the bag" regarding Xbox and Nintendo, and that we would hear more in the Autumn. It's still a rumour, of course, but evidence is mounting that Phil was, indeed, hinting at something.

But just saying that Xbox and Nintendo are working together could mean anything. Master Chief in Smash. Xbox Game Pass on Switch. A hybrid Xbox-Nintendo console called the Xbox Series N. A new Zelda set in the world of Halo. Or maybe Microsoft is willing to sell Rare back to Nintendo, and we'll finally get a new Banjo-Kazooie.

Not to get everyone's hopes up prematurely, but... what do you think this potential Xbox/Nintendo collab could be? And, if you could have your most unlikely wish, what do you hope beyond hopes that it would be? Let us know in the comments!

[source youtu.be]