Given all the games that have it, it is easy to wonder if Overwatch cross-platform play is a thing. After all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, another Activision title, will launch with it. So does Overwatch cross-play exist? Sometimes not every platform has the feature which means this question has another subsection to it: is Overwatch Switch cross-play included in the new port?
Overwatch Cross-Play | Is there cross-platform play with the Switch version?
There sadly is no such thing as Overwatch cross-play. Everyone is siphoned off in their own servers. Switch players play with Switch players, PC players play with PC players, Xbox One players play with Xbox One players, and PS4 play with PS4 players. There is currently no way to mix and match and play with someone on a different console. This means that all you new Overwatch Switch owners are stuck play with those on the Switch.
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This also means you can’t transfer your progress and cosmetics between systems. If you have all of your skins on Xbox One and want them on your new Switch version, you’re tough out of luck and will have to start earning gear from scratch.
Overwatch Cross-Play | Is it coming?
But don’t get too down the feature’s exclusion because Blizzard hasn’t ruled it out but it also hasn’t promised that it is definitely coming. In September, fresh off the Switch port’s announcement, Blizzard said that it is “just not in a place yet from a technical or a business side” to do cross-play. Game Producer Matthew Hawley also stated that “cross play and cross progression are something we’ve learned a lot about in the last couple of years” before talking about how Hearthstone has multiplatform support and how they don’t have anything else to talk about concerning cross-play. Hawley then said that the team has spoken about it and they “are actively monitoring and paying attention to what’s been going on.” However, he still couldn’t make a commitment to implementing the feature.
Then, in early October, Principal Producer Wes Yanagi echoed a similar sentiment.
“Cross-play is something that would definitely be compelling for players, and as a player, I would love to see it happen. The truth is that implementing cross-play for Overwatch is more difficult than people realize,” Yanagi said in addition to saying the team was also exploring cross-play.
Essentially, there’s no solid guarantee on if Overwatch cross-platform play will ever exist. It seems like Blizzard has looked into it but is hesitant to make any promises but it is in the list of things to look into. There are probably plenty of challenges along the way but if games like Rocket League and Modern Warfare can do it, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
