Gaming technology has come a long way since its first inception all the way back in the 1950s. What started as a simple collection of colored dots on an industrial computer, vaguely imitating tennis has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry, where the games now look eerily life-like. One of the biggest innovations in the gaming landscape was the advent of online multiplayer, which took some time to come to home consoles. Over the last few years, new strides in online gaming have paved the way for crossplay, the ability for those on consoles to not only play with friends on another console, but those on PC as well. But there's still one big downside with crossplay that developers have not fully addressed.
Crossplay, when it works, is one of the best modern features of online gaming. Players no longer need to try to encourage their friends to buy the same console as them just so they can play together, and that divide between PC gamers and console players is starting to get a little smaller. But it isn't perfect yet, as crossplay between console and PC isn't quite as smooth as players would like.
Crossplay With PC Still Has One Big Downside
Crossplay between consoles is usually pretty excellent. While there may be some latency issues, the actual experience tends to be fairly consistent, especially if it's between PlayStation and Xbox players. When using crossplay with those on Nintendo Switch, there can occasionally be a bit of a skill discrepancy between platforms due to the Switch's inherently lower frame-rates and visuals, but the actual connection between the platforms is typically quite solid.
PC, on the other hand, is another matter. While the connection between consoles and PC is not really a major problem, PC players often have quite a sizable advantage over those on consoles. For those playing on powerful rigs, there's an inherent difference between performance on consoles and PC, and the ability to change settings like FOV greatly favors those on PC. Whilst these problems are being addressed by most developers, with modern AAA games allowing console players to change more advanced settings and even use a mouse and keyboard, there's one big issue that still persists with PC crossplay: hacks and cheats.
Hacking is a serious problem in the PC gaming landscape. Despite the copious amounts of anti-cheat software already packaged in with modern AAA games, some PC players still manage to bypass those systems and find a way to cheat. Whether it's an aimbot or wallhacks, these cheats can drastically affect a player's experience and can lead to a lot of frustration for those not using any cheats. When crossplay with PC was first introduced for titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, console players quickly learned the hard way that those on PC could cheat with ease. This has led to a lot of console players turning off their crossplay functionality altogether in an attempt to avoid any hackers.
This issue isn't an easy one to fix, but its prevalence in the gaming landscape is significantly affecting the future of crossplay. If developers want to continue to try and push crossplay, then they'll need to find some more substantial anti-cheat methods. However, stricter anti-cheat methods can sometimes lead to anti-consumer practices, such as asking for a personal phone number, which Overwatch 2 has just been heavily criticized for.