There are two gaming words you’ve probably heard before that you’re going to start hearing a lot more in coming years. They are crossplay and cross-progression. But what do these strange terms mean? It’s important to know, because they’re very exciting features for any multiformat game.
Let’s start with crossplay.
Crossplay means that when you play online, the people you are playing with or against could be on a different kind of console. Not that long ago, if you had the Xbox copy of a game, for example, you could only play online with people who also had an Xbox copy. However, if a game features crossplay, you can also now play against friends who have the game on different systems. Like PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or even mobile.
You’ve probably played some crossplay titles before. Fortnite, Rocket League, Minecraft, Hearthstone, Call of Duty, No Man’s Sky, Apex Legends and Among Us are just some examples.
Cross-progression, on the other hand, is about where you play your game.
Usually, if you’re playing a game on a PC and then you switch to a console and play the same game, you have to start again. Your character stats, unlocks and save files don’t come with you. However, if a game has cross-progression, it means that when you switch between formats, you start exactly where you left off on the other machine.
Pretty cool, right? Cross-progression is a new concept and makes use of cloud saving to help the data connect between different machines. Some notable cross-progression games include; Fortnite, Minecraft, Dauntless, Destiny 2, Call of Duty Warzone, Paladins and Civilization VI.
Hopefully we will start to see more cross-progression games in the future. It would be great to be able to play on your PC at home, then change to your Switch when holidays, for example!
