Microsoft says Nintendo isn’t the reason they removed emulators from Xbox X/S

Last week, we shared a story about Microsoft removing emulators from the Microsoft Store on Xbox Series X/S. That part of the story is 100% true, but people were speculating as to why the emulators got removed in the first place. As you might have guessed, many pointed to Nintendo as the reason, but Microsoft is now saying that’s not true.

Nintendo certainly isn’t a fan of emulators in general, and they’ve gone after emulation in a number of ways over the years. Thinking that Nintendo would have an issue with Microsoft allowing Nintendo-related emulators on Xbox platforms does make sense, but Microsoft shared a statement with IGN letting fans know that wasn’t the case, as their motivation in removing emulators was different.

Now, whether you believe that statement or not is up to you. There’s little doubt the rumor of Nintendo being the cause will persist, but at least we now have comment from Microsoft on the matter.