Cross Platform Games – A list of cross platform & cross play games and defining other gaming jargon

Taking a look at some of the best cross platform games out there

Cross Platform Games

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Over the years, the gaming industry has evolved a lot, with there being more major competitors and new styles of gaming coming around. 20 years ago, there was largely only Xbox, PlayStation and the Windows PC. But nowadays, you have different gaming operating systems on PC, including MAC and Linux OSs. Meanwhile, there are a large variety of console gaming, featuring Nintendo products, two generations of Xbox and PlayStation consoles still in active circulation, along with streaming platforms like Google Stadia, and mobile gaming, whether through the app store or through app technologies like the Xbox Cloud gaming aka xCloud, just to name a few.

Read more: Video gaming statistics.

As a result of the new and developing gaming market, there are quite a lot of buzzwords getting thrown around the place. Some of these buzzwords include the likes of cross platform games, crossplay games, cross generation games, and cross save games. In this article, we will guide you through the terminology of gaming, along with a list of cross platform and cross play games, to aid you through this IT jargon nightmare, and straight into the fun stuff.

What are cross platform games?

Cross platform is a technical term that simply means the software works on a variety of platforms. Now let’s apply that to gaming. All it means for games is these games work on more than one gaming system. In other words, it is not a gaming exclusive. Take Microsoft for example. Games like Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 was originally a console exclusive, but since the advent of Microsoft’s gain on the PC player base and through the development of the MCC on PC, it technically means Halo 3 is now a cross platform game. Meanwhile, Sony has plenty of exclusives, like the God of War, Gran Turismo, Horizon, Resistance and more. However, games like God of War 2018 and Horizon Zero Dawn are no longer PlayStation exclusives and have become cross platform with recently developed ports for the PC, years after their initial release mind you. However, Nintendo’s IP’s are still very secure, and are largely only available in the Nintendo Switch nowadays, only becoming cross platforms if they are playable on the Nintendo DS systems or on the Nintendo Switch. See the Nintendo Store backlog for that content.

However, gaming is becoming more and more competitive across a variety of platforms. Nowadays, developers and publishers won’t fight much for exclusives on certain platforms, instead, pushing into other markets to widen their audience who are settled on their gaming platform of choice. What we find now is more live service games targeting a variety of audiences. See Rainbow Six Siege for example, which is playable on nearly every modern gaming platform other than mobile. But it isn’t exactly limited to live service games. See Sekiro Shadows Die Twice as an example. The Dark Souls genre is massive, so getting making that a cross platform game rather than an exclusive is much better for business.

What is cross generation?

If you come across a game that features cross-gen support, this means that the game can be played on the new and old generations of consoles. For example, if a game was released on the Playstation 4 and 5 with cross-gen support, it wouldn’t matter which console you had. This is ideal for games that are live service. Let’s use the Rainbow Six Siege example again. Progressing years on PS4, PC or Xbox One means players who have value don’t lose their accounts. So, why start again on a new console? Cross generation, which largely feature cross save or cross progression if you will allow players to keep their progress, making that issue disappear for the game that have a cross generation or crass save feature. In another example, games like Destiny 2 and Battlefield 2042 also do that.

Cross generation is an important feature for games for progression reason. The other important part is the stock shortages in tech. Not many gamers have got their hands on the new generation consoles because of the semiconductor supply issues since the pandemic began in 2020. Because of this, many are still staying on older generation gaming systems, and so cross generation support is absolutely vital in making sure the player bases don’t feel divided based on wealth or supply.

What is cross progression / cross save?

Cross progression allows any progress you’ve made in-game to be shared on different platforms. Your game save data would be saved to an account and then if you happened to trade in your Playstation for an Xbox, you could continue the game without having to start again. Destiny 2 is one of the standout games that offers this feature across every single platform the game is on. Meanwhile, Ubisoft games share cross progression across the PC related systems like Stadia and Ubisoft+ account progress. Not all cross save or cross progression games are made equally, so be aware of the distinction. We recommend checking each individual game you’re interested in to make sure it suits your needs. Moreso, some games need you to fiddle with account connectivity to allow its cross save or cross progression feature to work correctly.

With the jargon out of the way, below you’ll find a list of games that are cross platform, cross play, feature cross gen or cross save.

Best Cross Platform Games/ Crossplay Games

Let’s take a look at the best cross platform games in general first (which also feature cross play too).

Other Cross Platform Games/ Crossplay Games

The list grows year on year, with cross-play becoming a much bigger feature than it has been in the past.

Free Cross Platform Games/ Crossplay Games

Some of the best free cross platform games currently available are free to play too.

Xbox PC Crossplay Games

There are some Microsoft/ Xbox exclusive games that only feature crossplay between PC and your Xbox console.

Cross Platform Multiplayer Games

These are the best crossplay multiplayer games that you and your friends can enjoy across platforms.

Product Specialist - Gaming PC, Prebuilt Gaming PC, GPUs, CPUs, AT WEPC

Shaun Conroy

Shaun is a gaming enthusiast and computer science graduate who has been working with computers for the last 15 years. He took a shine to competitive FPS back in the mid-2000s and hasn't looked back since.

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2 thoughts on “Cross Platform Games – A list of cross platform & cross play games and defining other gaming jargon”

  1. Cross Play and Cross platform are not the same thing. Cross platform means you can play your game on multiple platforms. For example, Destiny 2 is cross platform and you can log in to your account and keep your progress across say PC and a Playstation. Cross Play means you can play with someone who is on another platform. Destiny 2 does not support Cross Play so for example if you are on PC and your friend is on Playstation you cannot play together.

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