Recently, there has been a lot of talk about cross-platform play. Microsoft has won favor for supportingcross-platform play in games likeFortniteandMinecraft, which allow Xbox One gamers to play with their friends on Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms. But it seems that the company wants to take things a step further, with cross-platform saves.
On Twitter,Xboxcorporate vice president Mike Ybarra tweeted that he “really want[s] cross progression on all games.” Ybarra explains that because he plays on both PC and Xbox One, he wishes that all games supported this and many of his cohorts feel the same. “We constantly debate to play new games together on PC or Xbox,” explains the executive.
Ybarra and his friend group are far from the only people who want to see this happen. The replies to the tweet are flooded with supportive fans, pointing to games that they’d like to see support cross-platform saves first. One popular suggestion is Blizzard’s multiplayer shooterOverwatch, with many players interested in using theirlegendary skins and other cosmeticson every platform without having to unlock them multiple times.
Another suggestion wasMonster Hunter Worldwith many saying that as the game isgoing to release on PC soon, it would be especially helpful if they could transfer their save data over from Xbox One. Other games mentioned areDestiny 2,Diablo 3, and the upcomingTeam Sonic Racing.
Microsoft has already won players over with its wholehearted support of cross-platform play as PlayStation platform-holderSony continues to block the featureon its platforms. So many would agree that enabling cross-platform progressions would be another smart business move from the company. Not only is the feature something that players are interested in (as indicated by the replies) but it would make it much easier for players to move from PS4 to Xbox One. Moving to another console wouldn’t automatically mean having to lose hours upon hours of progress in a game that they love.
However, there are big questions about what this feature would look like. Microsoft’sXbox Play Anywhereprogram allows people to own a game on both Xbox One and Windows PC after buying it on one platform, so it’s easy to see how the company would roll cross-save infrastructure out. But considering Sony’s reluctance to support cross-platform play, it’s difficult to imagine that the company will be quick to take part in Microsoft’s cross-save plans.
