Despite having been out for over five years now, Overwatch remains one of the most popular hero shooters on the market. Boasting a massive player base, Overwatch has a lively and competitive community on every console that it features on.
However, with Overwatch being such a huge hit, it makes sense that gamers on different platforms would want to play with each other. Currently, the game is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and even the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, gamers looking to team up with their friends that play on a different system are out of luck, as they will find no option for cross-play inside of Overwatch’s menus.
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Despite Blizzard discussing cross-play for Overwatch as early as 2016, nothing has come from the teasers. The developer may have run into a wall at the time due to Sony’s stance against cross-platform gaming, though with the company seemingly being more open to the feature in recent years, it is odd that it has not yet arrived. Still, there is no cross-play ability in Overwatch whatsoever, as each console’s player base will only be able to play with gamers that are logged in on the same platform.
Xbox users cannot play Overwatch with PlayStation fans, with the closest thing being cross-play between the same console families. Overwatch does not have a proper next-gen upgrade available to download, meaning that gamers on PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S are essentially playing the same version as PS4 and Xbox One users. As such, last-gen gamers can play with those on the newer consoles. For those hoping to play with other platforms, though, the feature may still be coming via the highly anticipated Overwatch 2.
Blizzard has made two recent mentions of cross-play still being looked at for Overwatch. The first came in late 2019, while the second came in July of last year. None other than Jeff Kaplan mentioned cross-play in Overwatch 2 being a possibility, and with the sequel’s former director making this comment so recently, it seems as if there is a chance that the feature will finally come. However, it has not yet been confirmed, meaning that gamers will need to continue to hold out hope for the addition.
If Overwatch 2 does indeed get crossplay, it will be interesting to see if it is console-to-console or if PC is also included. The console and PC versions of Overwatch play a fair bit differently, as heroes like Bastion and Torbjorn are far more viable on console than they are on PC. Further, it remains to be seen if the original version would get cross-play, too, as both Overwatch and Overwatch 2 will remain active following the sequel's release. Either way, this is a question for a later date, as Overwatch lacks cross-platform play in its current form.
Overwatch is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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