Games that deserve cross-platform play the most
One of the great changes in gaming over the past decade was the arrival of cross-play. For years, you were locked into only playing multiplayer games with people on the same platform as you – PC vs PC, PlayStation vs PlayStation, Xbox vs Xbox. Now, games without crossplay are the exception, not the norm.
We have Fortnite to thank for the explosion of crossplay. Epic’s game was so popular that it gave the developer the ability to negotiate with Microsoft and Sony to allow their players to share servers. Once Epic opened the door, other developers quickly followed.
However, there are still some notable games that don’t allow their players to share servers. For some, it may be the game isn’t large enough, or the developer has moved on to other projects, or it would be too great a technical challenge to reverse engineer the feature into their title.
Below, you’ll find all the games we think would most benefit from letting their players work together (or fight) across the platform divide.
GTA ONLINE
As one of the best-selling games ever made, it’s surprising that GTA Online doesn’t support crossplay. Especially as it’s been re-released twice in the past decade, taking advantage of the hardware in each new console generation, and to this day receives regular updates from developer Rockstar.
There’s the argument that, with so many players, you’ll never be short of company when you join GTA Online’s servers. After all, on PC alone, nearly 200,000 players dive into the LA-like city of Los Santos every day. Combine that with all the PlayStation and Xbox players across the different console generations, and you could see upward of a million virtual criminals out there daily. However, where’s the fun in crime if you don’t get to commit it with chums?
Rockstar didn’t allow cross-platform multiplayer in the more recently released Red Dead Redemption 2, so the developer may not be interested in breaking down the barriers between platforms. With GTA VI due for release in 2025, we can only hope the developer changes its tune.
sTARDEW Valley
Asking for crossplay multiplayer for Stardew may seem unduly demanding. After all, the lifestyle farming RPG initially launched as a purely single-player experience. Only years after its huge success, developer ConcernedApe opened Stardew Valley’s lid and rebuilt it to allow co-op multiplayer. It was a hugely generous update to the game and a request they could easily have deined.
Yet, it is a shame that when tilling your fields, pruning your crops, and rushing around the orchards on your farm, you can only do it with companions playing on the same platform as you. While a household may have two Nintendo Switches, it’s far more likely that they would have different platforms if they own two gaming machines.
If Stardew Valley were crossplay, it would open the joy of cooperative farming to even more players. Or, put another way, give you an even larger pool of friends and family to rope into working on your farm. Those pumpkins aren’t going to harvest themselves.
IT TAKES TWO
As the name would suggest, It Takes Two was built for co-op. Like developer Hazelight’s debut, A Way Out, the game can only be played in multiplayer, with the story’s action divided between two players, demanding collaboration.
Strangely, however, despite It Takes Two’s story of mending a fractured relationship, you can’t play across different platforms. What better metaphor could there be for healing the hurt of the old console wars?
You can play It Takes Two in split-screen couch co-op, which supports cross-generational online multiplayer, meaning PS4 and PS5 players can team up. However, if you were hoping to fix the main characters’ Cody and May’s relationship with a friend on Xbox, you best get yourself around their house or buy yourself one of Microsoft’s consoles, too.
cs:go
In recent years, we’ve seen many competitive shooters crossing the console divide and joining up their communities through crossplay. Well, that is except for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Valve keeps its PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players entirely separate from one another.
Now, Valve’s not the only one to restrict their crossplay audience; however, the restrictions are usually limited to the ranked competitive mods. For instance, in friendly Overwatch matches, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players can all duke it out together, but when you play ranked modes, PC players are hived off. This is because mouse and keyboard players have an advantage over gamepad users. But, even then, the competitive modes of PlayStation and Xbox are crossplay. In Global: Offensive, there is no overlap in either friendly or competitive games.
While it’s unlikely we will ever see that change for Global Offensive, there is hope for Counter-Strike 2. When Global Offensive launched, crossplay was less established, so there’s more of an excuse for its absence. Counter-Strike 2, however, went into early access last year, long after crossplay became the norm. If Valve releases its competitive shooter for consoles, it will likely feature some form of crossplay.
don’t starve together
Out in the wilds of the Constant, where creatures want to kill you and edible food is sparse, it is a game-changer to have a companion. The original Don’t Starve was a purely single-player affair, so we know just how dangerous it is to go alone.
Developer Klei is unusually generous with its co-op game; when you buy Don’t Starve Together, you receive two copies, one for you and one for a friend. However, if you don’t have the same platforms available, you won’t be able to make much use of that gift. When Klei retooled its survival game for multiplayer, crossplay was left off the menu.
While you can easily find strangers online to fill out your camp, the game is best experienced with friends. After all, when it’s someone you know and love who leaves you to die in the dark woods, it just hits different.
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