Cuphead is coming to Switch next month
UPDATE: Xbox Live features coming via post-launch update.
UPDATE 21/3/19: The Nintendo Switch version of Cuphead will receive its Xbox Live integration via a post-launch update, Microsoft has said.
It's expected this will mean support for Xbox Live features such as Gamerscore, achievements, cloud-saving, multiplayer and leaderboards, though what exactly the game will get we're yet to hear.
But, writing via the Xbox Wire blog, ID@Xbox chief Chris Charla said Microsoft and Cuphead developer StudioMDHR's work would follow the trail blazed by "what Mojang had done with Minecraft and the Bedrock Edition", the first Nintendo Switch game with Xbox Live features.
"Fans will now have the opportunity to experience StudioMDHR's award-winning debut game on Nintendo Switch with Xbox Live!" Charla wrote. "We'll be working with StudioMDHR to implement Xbox Live features into Cuphead on the Nintendo Switch in the coming months. Given the early stage of our work with StudioMDHR, the Xbox Live features will appear in a post-launch update to Cuphead on Nintendo Switch. We'd like to thank Studio MDHR and Nintendo for their help in this investigation!"
More Nintendo Switch games with Xbox Live integration will follow, Microsoft said yesterday in its GDC talk on the online service:
Which begs the question - which games might get Xbox Live features in the future? Hellblade, developed by the now-Microsoft owned Ninja Theory, is headed to Switch later this spring. And rumours abound Microsoft-published platformers Ori and the Blind Forest and Super Lucky's Tale are also on the way.
Microsoft previously mentioned it was working on Nintendo Switch support for Xbox Live features - although has subsequently played down how soon it might arrive. Cuphead, then, feels like another test of the waters.
ORIGINAL STORY 20/3/19: Studio MDHR's gorgeous, classic-cartoon-inspired run-and-gunner Cuphead is coming to Switch on April 18th - and there's a free update heading to all platforms too.
Cuphead, which launched on Xbox One and PC in 2017, was initially announced to be an Xbox console exclusive, so its imminent arrival on Switch is a welcome - if heavily rumoured - occurrence. Here's the announcement trailer to i) mark the occasion, and ii) remind us all just how truly sumptuous the game really is.
As on other platforms, Cuphead Switch supports both solo and co-op play (with player two controlling Mugman), and Studio MDHR says that it's currently working with Microsoft to "investigate bringing Xbox Live features to the Nintendo Switch version of Cuphead". However, it stresses that it's "still early days, so we can't promise any dates or details on this, but we'll be tinkering away to see what's possible in the coming months!".
Those Switch owners eager to get onboard with Cuphead's glorious (if rock-hard) jump-and-shoot action, can pre-order the game on eShop now.
Studio MDHR has also revealed that a new Cuphead update will be heading to PC and Xbox One alongside the Switch release. This brings "oodles" of new art and animations, including fully animated cinematics, and introduces the option to play as Mugman during solo play.
The developer notes this will all be included in the Switch version at launch, and additional details can be found on MDHR's announcement page.