Yesterday, Microsoft announced that they’d be supporting Cross-Network Play, which allows Xbox One and Windows 10 Xbox Live users to play with “different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.”
One of the first games to support this is Rocket League, and Jeremy Dunham of developer Psyonix spoke with Mashable recently, saying, “We were prodding everyone all the time [for the feature].”
Although Rocket League is now able to support it, PS4 vs Xbox cross-play hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. According to Dunham, Psyonix has made sure to take care of any issues a publisher may have:
The good news about Rocket League is that we’re set up to either handle or prevent a lot of the concerns that a lot of the publishers usually have, which is why Sony already allowed us PS4/PC cross-play and why Microsoft is allowing us to do it as well.
They’ve recognized that we’ve taken all the steps necessary to try to prevent people from harming other people’s experiences. You can’t even voice chat against another player on another platform.
When asked about the chances of PS4 vs Xbox One cross-play, Dunham replied, “Today is the first day that anyone outside of Psyonix and Microsoft is aware of this. So obviously Sony is still getting as much information as they can and understanding the situation before they can really talk about it.”
Dunham’s optimistic about the chances of console cross-play in Rocket League, and the next step is talking with Sony about it:
We have to discuss what [cross-platform play] means, what the implications are for PlayStation Network users and what the implications are in terms of the existing security protocols. Very similar to what happened with Microsoft and our long discussions with them.
Since this is the “first time in history that this is even a legitimate possibility for anybody,” he knows it’s going to take some evaluation and discussion on Sony’s end.
If cross-play were to happen though, leagues wouldn’t be divided and you “truly could find the best player in the world, period,” Dunham adds.
[Source: Mashable]
