Sony recently backtracked on its restrictive cross-platform policies, by announcing that it’d be allowing Fortnite to have cross-play with the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions of the game as well, and that this was going to be the first of many titles to receive such support. It’s exciting news, because it’s opened up a ton of new possibilities.
Questions have started popping about about cross-platform play for all the most major multiplatforms multiplayer titles out there, and one such title is Rocket League. Even though Rocket League on the PS4 has allowed cross-play with the game’s PC version for a long time now, the same hasn’t been possible with Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions.
That, however, is about to change pretty soon. In a lengthy update put up on Reddit, Dave Hagewood, CEO of Rocket League developers Psyonix, talked about the exciting new developments, mentioning that from the very beginning Rocket League had been built as a game that centred around cross-play, before going on to say that even though the process of enabling it (which is underway) will take some time, it’s a huge priority for the development team.
“Cross play across all consoles is a subject that is near and dear to my heart,” Hagewood wrote. “It has been my passion since the inception of Rocket League and I have constantly encouraged my team that we not only have the opportunity but the obligation to be pioneers in bringing gamers together regardless of platform. Games may come and go but it is not often that you have the ability to be part of a real step forward in online gaming.”
“We built Rocket League to be a cross-platform game from the very beginning,” he continued. “It has been a Psyonix mandate that our technology, processes, and policies must always comply with this effort and we have worked tirelessly to ensure it. We hoped that other developers would join us in this effort and they did. We hoped that gamers would cry out for more and they did.
“Of course, cross-platform play is not something Psyonix and Rocket League can do on it’s own. It takes the substantial cooperation and coordination of many partners, most notably the platform holders themselves. It is with the greatest joy that I can now acknowledge that all the major consoles are making progress towards a truly all-platform cross-platform play experience!
“I want everyone to understand just how much of a priority this is for us and always has been for our team. There are still many factors, some of which take time, that means we have to have some patience. I am excited beyond words and I wanted to make sure that our players know where we stand. I can’t wait to see our vision for a truly unified Rocket League community finally realized.”
Let’s hope it happens soon. Other titles might soon be going down the same path as well. Microsoft recently expressed interest in having similarly unified community for Minecraft, while Bethesda has stated that Fallout 76 might eventually end up supporting cross-platform play as well.