Last month Microsoft announced some pretty big news in the sense that they would be enabling cross-play between the Xbox One and other platforms such as the PC and the PlayStation 4. In a recent interview with Eurogamer ID@Xbox’s European boss Agostino Simonetta told the publication that they are ready.When asked if the technology is already in place to support cross-play, Simonetta said, “Absolutely – we’re ready. Rocket League is the first game – and it is a heavily network-orientated game. Last weekend I had a problem with my wife, I was playing too much Rocket League. But yes, any title that wants to update their game to include cross-network play, any title that wants to launch soon and take advantage of that, we are ready.”
However before gamers get too excited, just like it was in the case of backwards compatibility, the decision isn’t solely made by Microsoft. This means that the other side, such as Sony, needs to decide if certain games will be cross-play compatible. After all there is an advantage to having an exclusive network of players, but then again opening it up to more players means that it will attract a bigger crowd.
Simonetta adds, “As far as we’re concerned – we’ve made the announcement and we’re ready – whoever wants to get on board. It remains an open invitation to any network that wants to do the same.” So Xbox One gamers, it looks like the technology is there, so now all you’ve got to do is wait for developers to choose to get on board with the idea.