Overwatch Fans Are Going Bonkers Over This Announcement
As fans wait patiently for news about "Overwatch 2," Blizzard has decided to surprise players with an addition to the current tried and true "Overwatch" game. On June 9, the "Overwatch" team made a huge announcement that excited fans across the globe: cross-play is finally coming. In a special video on YouTube, game director Aaron Keller explained the details of how Blizzard plans to integrate cross-play into "Overwatch" going forward.
Keller said that cross-play will soon be available on all "Overwatch" platforms, including PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch. Blizzard will also reward players with a golden loot box to celebrate the new feature. Even though most fans will be pleased by the opportunity to play with friends no matter what system they prefer, Blizzard is already anticipating plenty of questions from eager players.
Keller addressed a few concerns that fans might have about the new cross-play feature. First, he addressed cross-progression, which would allow players to carry things like gear, currency, or cosmetics from system to system. Cross-progression will not be available at launch, unfortunately, but the "Overwatch" developers plan to implement it at some point in the future.
Players who want to take full advantage of the cross-play feature in "Overwatch" will need to register with Battle.net, Blizzard's online account system. "However," Keller said. "Some of our game modes will have special rules for how matches get made, specifically our Competitive game mode." The solution for competitive play turned out to be fairly simple.
Competitive play and fan response
In Competitive play, gamers will not be able to work with a team made up of both console and PC players. Instead, the team must be composed of all console or all PC gamers. This helps battle potential problems concerning the legitimacy of matches, or perceived unfair advantages based on the old console v. PC debate. Of course, players can enjoy matches with any of their friends outside of competitive play, regardless of platform. PC players cannot disable cross-play, while console gamers can, which confused some fans.
Gamers seemed mostly excited for the announcement, rejoicing that they could now play with friends across platforms, but others didn't seem too pleased. Amongst the typical comments from fans who view the game as past its prime, several commenters voiced real concern about how cross-play would work once it arrives.
One gamer questioned how cross-play would make sense on the Nintendo Switch, since its frame rate can't keep up with other platforms. Others wondered about the possibility of eventually transferring purchased content to other platforms. Regardless of these concerns, the fact remains that cross-play is coming, and many of these questions will be answered as the cross-play launch approaches.
The announcement that "Overwatch" will include PlayStation in its list of supported cross-play platforms is particular surprising, given Sony's reluctance to engage in cross-play in the past. While Sony hasn't commented on the new cross-play function yet, Xbox certainly seems excited for the collaboration, tweeting in response to the announcement with a hearty "Cheers love! The cavalry's here!"