Today, at the Hi-Rez Expo, Hi-Rez Studios announced that most of its games would introduce cross-platform play soon, no longer locking players behind impenetrable walls. Smite, Paladins and Realm Royale, which is still in early access, will all include cross-play.
Players of god-bashing MOBA Smite and multiplayer fantasy shooter Paladins will be able to access all of characters and progression on PC, Xbox One and Switch, and everyone will be able to play together. Hi-Rez says it will be coming to Smite “soon”, and it will be a major feature of Paladins’ upcoming season.
“We want to break down the barriers that stop friends from playing together on PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch,” said Chris Larson, Hi-Rez Studios general manager. “And we are technically ready to support cross-play on other platforms as the opportunity arises.”
As for Realm Royale, it’s only available on PC at the moment, but there’s a console closed beta, during which Hi-Rez will let Xbox One and PC players muck around together.
PS4 is notably absent from this lovely cross-platform orgy. For a long time, Sony staunchly refused to allow cross-play on its console, but the absurd popularity of Fortnite finally forced them to make a 180. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll need to wait a bit longer to see more games include PS4 in their cross-play plans.
Pip is at the Hi-Rez Expo right now, so keep an eye out for interviews and more news.
