The release of the third-person action-RPG Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance is just two months away, but Wizards of the Coast is still building up momentum in its pre-launch marketing. Many details about the unique game, which stars many of the Dungeons and Dragons universe's most notable heroes, remain left to be fleshed out. Today, one key aspect of Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance has been confirmed, that being the whether it supports cross-play or cross-gen play.
In an official Q&A session with developer Tunque Games, a question was asked as to whether Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance would support cross-play. The response was in the affirmative, however it was quickly apparent that the correct definition of "cross-play" wasn't what the developer discussed. The response confirmed Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance would support cross-play between PS4 and PS5, between Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and cross-play between Steam and the Epic Games Store individually.
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In other words, Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance does not support cross-play, but it does, at the very least, support cross-gen play so PlayStation users can join with other players, and Xbox players with Xbox. PC players naturally assume they'll be able to play with other PC players, as a decision not to support a one-platform PC community would be news in-and-of itself.
Cross-play is the ability to play with those on entirely different platform ecosystems; if PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players could all play together. It's an increasingly popular feature, but games the size of Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance often pass up on including it. Persuading Sony to allow cross-play without being a hugely successful game is challenging, though the lack of PC and Xbox cross-play implies this was an issue of time and resources.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance supporting cross-play would have been a welcomed feature, however. The action-RPG is built around four-player cooperative online multiplayer. Being able to fill out a squad with friends regardless of platform would have been a huge boon. The lack of local co-op support also limits players' options.
Wizards of the Coast's decision to leave out cross-play is understandably disappointing to many looking forward to the game. Perhaps if players continue requesting the feature, and if Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance is successful enough to justify significant post-launch support, the feature can be added following its release.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance releases June 22 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.