Gone are the days where video games were only accessible at an arcade. Now, games can be played on a variety of platforms, which is bringing together PC and console gamers in ways that were not possible ten years ago. Players are no longer locked out of playing with friends on different consoles, and titles are built to work across different systems.
Even those who tend to play mainly on PC or console, mobile devices can keep players linked to their accounts, game chats, and data on platforms like Steam. This is great for players, as it makes games more accessible, and ultimately creates more opportunity for community building. Let’s take a look at what technology makes this possible, and why it matters for players.
Why Cross-Platform Play Matters for PC and Console Users
By blurring the barriers between different consoles, information about certain games, like reviews and detailed guides, become far more applicable. With more games being playable on a variety of platforms, gaming information like this detailed review here become more likely to offer relevant information for players. Multiplayer games, in particular, mean that if someone wants to play a certain game, they no longer feel the pressure to buy another device or system to be compatible.
A player’s choice of hardware used to put barriers on their entire social circle in games. Someone whose friends were playing the Dark Souls games would be significantly left out of conversations if they did not have access to a console system, such as Playstation or Xbox. Now, however, Dark Souls games are playable on multiple platforms, which creates more opportunities for people to play the game. Many online battle-royal games like Fortnite even allow cross-platform play within games, allowing PC and console users to play in the same match.
This cross-platform play is slowly bringing gaming communities closer together, which is evident in how online game guides are increasingly providing support for all kinds of consoles. Walkthroughs and guides no longer provide information specific to a certain console, and players are likely to find a range of platforms supported.
The Tech That Makes This Possible
While the technology that makes cross-platform possible is seemingly simple, it is easy to take these features for granted. Here are some of the main features of cross-platform gaming.
Shared Servers
Cross-platform games use the same servers for everyone, whether you’re on PC, a console, or sometimes even a phone. Everyone joins the same pool of players. To keep things fair, developers try to match you with others who use similar controls or have a similar skill level. So if you play with a keyboard and mouse, you’ll often be matched with others who do the same. If you use a controller, you’ll likely face other controller users. This helps keep matches fair while still letting players on different devices play together.
Cloud Gaming and Cross-Progression
Cloud gaming is also a major force behind cross-platforming, where services let players stream games from remote servers. That means the device you hold doesn’t need advanced hardware, because the processing happens elsewhere. You can start a session on your PC, continue on your console and then open the same game on an Android device through a cloud app.
This technology means that so long as someone has an account, they can access their saved progress and data like chats and achievements from both PC and console. Players can move from playing on their PC straight to the couch, without any progress lost.
Linking PC and Console Communities
With cross-platform easier than ever to access, there are a few ways that players can take advantage of these features, both in-game, and out of it.
Social Connection Across Platforms
Cross-platform support helps keep gaming groups from splitting up. In the past, if some players shifted from console to PC or from one console to another, group activity often slowed down. Now, clans, teams and friend groups stay together because the platform no longer decides who can join. A lot of modern games include in-game voice chat, with genres like shooter and team based games integrating ping systems that work the same across PC and console.
These social features in games are not just beneficial to making the right play, or getting a coordinated victory. They bring together diverse groups of people and help players develop strong social skills as they strategize together and swap feedback. Players can connect with their real-life friends easily, but also potentially meet new people with similar gaming interests.
Communicating Across Mobile Devices
This flexibility not only brings PC and console players together, it keeps connections open in everyday life, as people no longer need to be sitting at a PC or console to stay connected. Messages and updates can be checked straight from a mobile device, which is great for coordinating times to play with friends.
What Comes Next for PC + Console Cross-Platform Support
While cross-platform is already changing the way people play games by bringing them closer together and offering new ways of tracking gaming, there are always opportunities for growth. While what comes next for cross-platform support might just be improving on features already in place, there are other potential features on the horizon.
Smarter Matchmaking Tools
With technology having already changed significantly in the last ten years, it is difficult to think of how these features will be improved in the future, or what new features might be integrated. Matchmaking in online games, particularly battle arena or first-person shooter games, are becoming more sophisticated as they take into account more player data. These matchmaking systems look at input type, player performance, latency, and connection quality to match similar players. Better pairing helps keep matches fair across mixed devices, which is good for maintaining morale among players.
Developers Prioritizing Cross-Platform Support
As cross-platform support becomes expected rather than rare, more developers will continue to release games with cross-platform play already implemented, rather than adding it later. When PC and console have different versions of the same game, it can sometimes mean one platform faces unexpected bugs, or lacks full updates. By focusing on a range of players and platforms from the get-go, players who favor a certain platform will not feel left out.
Android’s Growing Connection to Console and PC
As Android devices become stronger and cloud streaming improves, the gap between phone, PC and console grows smaller. Mobile devices could work as a secondary screen, remote play tool or even a full gaming display, all of which are features that could be incorporated into gaming in the future. Imagine being able to play a game on PC while using your mobile to track your inventory, or display a map tracking your in-game discoveries.
Points to Remember
While the past had good-natured rivalries between PC and console players, the current state of gaming shows that PC and console players are closer than ever. Players are able to join the same matches regardless of whether they are using keyboard or controller, and cross-platform integrations like the Cloud mean that any player can access their information from a mobile.
This is not only bringing players into games and communities that they might not previously have had access to, it is also strengthening bonds between communities, and ensuring that no player is left out based on their platform of choice.
