You should never need an excuse to play Overwatch, but Blizzard delivered a great one today: Cross-platform play is now live. Overwatch crossplay going live allows players to team up and compete against one another on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Switch platforms.

PC players can jump into crossplay immediately, but console players will first need to connect to a Battle.net account to enable this new feature. Complete cross-platform play is allowed in Quick Play, Arcade, and Custom matches, but Competitive brings a major roadblock for the PC crowd. Given the control and speed advantages that a mouse and keyboard bring, Blizzard isn't uniting PC and console for ranked matches. PC players will always be matched with other PC players. That said, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox players can come together through crossplay for Competitive matches.

If you are returning to the game to check out crossplay, you'll also run into Ashe's Deadlock Challenge, a new event that runs from June 22 to July 5. If you play 27 matches, you'll unlock a legendary skin for Ashe and B.O.B. Leading up to that goal, nine matches nets you a player icon, and 18 games rewards a spray. You can earn additional sprays by watching Overwatch on Twitch for two, four, and six hours.

Ashe's Deadlock Challenge lines up nicely with the recent release of Deadlock Rebels, an Overwatch young-adult novel by Lyndsay Ely that tells the origin stories of Ashe and McCree. You can read the first chapter on Blizzard's website starting today. Here's a synopsis of the book in question:

In the years after the Omnic Crisis, the American Southwest is ruled by vultures looking to profit off the chaos. The West is ripe for the taking, and Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe intends to write her name across it. When Ashe is arrested yet again on the morning of her high school graduation, her aloof, old-money parents decide to disinherit her from the family fortune. To steal back what's rightfully hers, Ashe teams up with her omnic butler, B.O.B., and local ruffian Jesse McCree for a series of heists, catapulting the trio into a game of fast money and dangerous alliances. Along the way, Ashe discovers that family isn't just about blood. It's about the people who've got your back when your back's against the wall.

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If you fell off of Overwatch, will crossplay bring you back into the fold? If you have been playing on console, are you excited about the chance to take on players on other systems? Sound off in the comments below!

It's-a me, LEGO Mario! And LEGO Luigi! And now the two can play together because LEGO Super Mario is getting some co-op action. Nintendo shared a new video showcasing how the co-op aspect of LEGO Super Mario will work, marking this as the first time that LEGO Mario and Luigi are being connected together in a playable way within the LEGO Super Mario universe. 

The co-op adventure kicks off on August 1 and will allow Nintendo fans to play together for a couch co-op experience that is fun for all ages. Players can take to the world of LEGO to collect extra in-game goodies like coins, sync up with one another and work in tandem to take out dangerous Mario-verse foes and complete challenges for some sweet rewards. 

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Luigi in the LEGO-verse made headlines for a pretty strange reason earlier this year. Before the Luigi addition was officially announced, his blocky brother in red was creepily calling out for him. That has since been fixed and the reason behind that update weirdness was revealed. With the Luigi Star Course retailing for $59.99 and many more addable components also available, the addition of co-op just makes this LEGO adventure even more enticing for the Nintendo community. To learn more about all of the different ways LEGO is paying homage to the Super Mario franchise, you can check out the official website right here. 

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Thoughts on going in on some LEGO Super Mario co-op action? What other gaming franchises would you like to see turned into a new blocky adventure? Shout out those hopes and dreams in the comment section below!