Microsoft won't allow Xbox One/PC cross-platform play, says War Thunder dev

Eddie Makuch (GS) writes :

The Xbox One is technically capable of supporting cross-platform play, but Microsoft is not currently allowing it, according to War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment CEO Anton Yudintsev.

[pupa]

I wonder why? Can anybody tell us, I really would luv to know!

[DeadRabbits]

M$ developed the xbone as a closed format to make max profit by cornering off the gaming market. They are kind of like the Scientology of Gaming and Phil Spencer is their Tom Cruise!

Simples!

[SixtyNine]

And every other console are open formats, just like project Morpheus is also PC compatible.

It seems folks can't detect sarcasm without --> /s

[papashango]

^ That's actually just speculation.

[Mikefizzled]

Why is he even allowed a bubble?

[christocolus]

Phil is great..stop hating.

[MetaReapre]

@twelvebithero

They haven't come out to say yet that morpheus won't be compatible on computers, at GDC they just said they couldn't comment on it yet. If the DS4 is compatible with PC I don't see why the morpheus won't be.

However, if it is not, then I'm just going to go with the occulus rift instead... well if that doesn't get messed up yet (I don't trust facebook).

Making the morpheus a ps4 only peripheral will just be punishing its sales numbers before its even out if they go that route...

[Flamingweazel]

HAAH yes tryo to control everything.

[fr0sty]

@12bit...

Which console enabled self publishing out of the gate? Which online service allowed steam to exist within it and cross platform play to happen with Steam? Which online service currently allows cross platform play with War Thunder and Final Fantasy 14? Which platform makes their free to play games ACTUALLY FREE (as in, no online subscription required at all to play it)? Which platform doesn't lock 75% of its features behind a paywall? Which company lets you upgrade the hard drive in the console with any off the shelf part? Which company let you install a completely different open source operating system on it before hackers used it against them? Which company lets you use any off the shelf bluetooth headset, keyboard, or mouse since PS3 launched?

Considering that Morpheus was never confirmed to only work on PS4, and that's the only example you were able to come up with, I think it's fair to say you have no idea what you are talking about.

Sony has been as open of a format with PS3 and PS4 as a console can possibly get without allowing you to take the thing apart and put another GPU or more RAM in it (but they do allow you to upgrade the hard drive, another thing the competitors won't do). They're as open of a format that they can possibly be while still being a closed format console (which has many advantages from a developer's perspective).

[Zhipp]

I don't know what you're going on about. With the exception of something like the Ouya, every single console is closed. It's always been this way.

[Finch]

To be honest I don't care what the reason is. I used to be a PC gamer and left it behind too get away from all the cheaters and hackers. On console for the most part don't have the level of cheating and hacking. If they open it up to be cross play except nothing but cheating going on. If consoles ever go cross play I mind as well give up on console unless it's console exclusive games. Play the rest on PC.

[Ghoul]

You used a strange rethorik and a weird sense of conspiracys paired with a harsh tone.

BUT

in the core you are correct. :)

[redwin]

@frosty, and thanks to who do you have this online game revolution ? MS , I remember Sony saying you don't need to play or communicate online. ms is just trying to keep the best quality games so they don't get lost in a sea of mediocresy , it would be hard for a indie company to make a profit when they are pit in a sea of games and unable to afford marketing.

[Ratty]

I'd like to know too. It's completely ridiculous.

[nukeitall]

Balancing issues.

Ever tried playing a PC game using controller against somebody using mouse? It is completely unbalanced, you will get your @ss handed to you so fast, because it is unfair.

Not to mention the risk of cheaters and so on. Aim bots really suck!

So no, I do not want cross platform play. If you want to game on PC, game with other PC gamers.

Now, I would be open to gaming with PS4 users, although that would likely never happen.

The whole idea is that the experience in theory should be equal for everyone.

[Ratty]

I agree with you on some points. It wouldn't work with shooters but it would work with some other games such as MMORPGs.

And yeah playing PS4 vs Xbox One would work well. I don't think we'll see that happening anytime soon though.

[Gamer1982]

Its easy say the next COD came out for all platforms and supported cross platform play. Your mate has a pc and you have an xbox you could both play each other. Sound great for the consumer but it means your friend wont need to buy an xbox to play you. Its very anti consumer but they do it to force the market its as simple as that. Sony aren't as bad on this and already have cross platform mmos like FF14 (off the top of my head)

[xX-StolenSoul-Xx]

If cod came out on all platforms it would be pretty cool to do Ps3/Ps4 crossplay and 360/One Unless gameplay features of last gen does not allow.

Anyways PC/Console should be aloud in some circumstances, but I don't believe we should have Mouse Vs Controller as I feel like console gamers in FPS won't have the edge against that. In MMORPG games it seems to make perfect sense, like you mentioned FFXIV A realm Reborn does cross play.

I played Portal 2 cross platform with my friend while he was on Steam on the Ps3 and it worked fine.

[Angeljuice]

It works on WarThunder, it's easier to shoot people with a mouse, but you have a lot more maneuverability with a pad. I much prefer the joypad myself, using the sticks in the simulator settings makes the experience a lot more authentic (even if I score fewer points).

If XB1 we're involved in the cross-play with PC, it would mean all three platforms playing together. That would be really cool (but I can't see Microsoft allowing it.

[Geoff900]

It's due to a number of reasons, they have had crossplatform gaming before, and it wasn't very successful/balanced, PC gamers always have an advantage.

The other reason, is because Xbox Live is a closed platform, which in increases security.

[komp]

My thinking is that in most cases it simply would not be fair. I don't mean M/KB directly. What I mean is graphically.....

An example would be BF4 for instance, now on PC with everything tuned up would show things the console would not see.

So on the PC you could be laying in some grass sniping but on the console version the grass is not there due to limitations.

The PC player would look like he is lying in open space...

That is a PURE GUESS :) Please take it as such.

[Stapleface]

You have a good point, and things like grass not being there on the consoles but it is on the pc would absolutely happen.

[Angeljuice]

PS4 version is identical to the PC version (it looks and plays superbly on PS4).

[SuperBlur]

thing is , some people on pc already do play that way with low end hardware , forced to turn down graphic settings

[avengers1978]

I imagine it's more of a server issue, I mean all the platforms( PC and consoles) have server problems with certain games. So think about BF4 running Xbox and PC and playstation gamers all on the same server IMO that would be a nightmare for them considering they all have issues now running independently.

Just a guess really, it could be any of the reasons already listed.

Could also be the controller vs M&KB

[True_Samurai]

1. Pc gamers cheat. You don't wanna play against players who mod to their advantage
2. Keyboard & mouse advantage. Ever seen a pc gamer swing a turret around at lightning speed?
3. You dont wanna end up in a cod situation and end up in an infected lobby

[MetaReapre]

While that is true, certain games like mmorpgs would work fine with that. examples are that (and please do correct me if i'm wrong) FF14ARR does ps3 and pc play and same with DCUO for ps3 and pc (and ps4?).

[Stapleface]

1. That's bullshit, not every pc gamer cheats. You didn't say every, but you said pc gamers, putting them all in the same boat.

2. Well yeah you have a point there.

3. You do know that was ps4 players as well, meaning consoles have that issue too.

[AD705]

I play on pc as much as consoles and I rarely come across cheaters and hackers on the games I play. Yes they exist but not that prevalent. I know plenty of servers where cheaters are banned immediately for hacking and cheating. Besides PSN went down for almost 3 months due to hackers which today is considered the biggest hack in history. consoles have them as well.

[Bigpappy]

I don't like the Idea of competitive gaming between PC and consoles. I think PC have a lot of variables not available on console. Consoles are uniform and closed. PC are varied and open. Some casual type games would be fine though.

Short version: I support M$'s decision to NOT to allow cross platform game play. I think they should remain separate for the good of gaming.

[3-4-5]

They are missing out because War Thunder is an awesome game, and would have benefited from Xbox live being a great service.

O well.

PS4 fans are really going to like this game I think.

Tons of content, it will take you FOREVER to unlock all the planes, but they all fly and feel different and you feel accomplished once you unlock one.

* Awesome Maps/areas = beautiful to look at and fun to fly in.

* It's the best flying game I've played since Crimson Skies.

[bumnut]

I found it got boring fast, it's fun for a while but every battle is the same. I prefer world of warplanes.

[frostypants]

There's no technical reason why PS4 and Xbox One players shouldn't be able to interact online. The answer is always the same: $.

[CynicalKelly]

They tried it with that old Shadowrun game and it was a disaster, they don't believe it can work.

[SilentNegotiator]

"Wait, you mean you're playing this game online for FREE??"

[brich233]

Because of Hackers on PC. Making cross platform titles will bring in more hackers just because they can hack console gamers.

[medman]

Microsoft is for dopes who enjoy being controlled and abused.

[URNightmare]

That sucks!

[MCTJim]

Well...PC is always full of cheaters.

[FlunkinMonkey]

And XBone players are full of ignorance by the looks of things.

[StealthPandemic]

And Ponystation players are full of stupidity/retardation from looks of them...

And Nintendogs players are full of child-like symptoms.....

And don't get me started on those OH YAA players!

[Gamer1982]

Wow you need to play gears of war on xbox 360.. Thats cheater heaven and apart from first game they were exclusive to xbox.. No PC players there...

[ClevelandSteamer]

Titanfall on Xbone Live has more cheaters and hackers VS PC right now. This claim that PC has more cheaters is invalid.

[kingduqc]

Pc is always filled with dedicated servers with great admins. Go play few year old title online like cod on consoles and tell me its an enjoyable experience with hackers

[stragomccloud]

Obviously. Dual analogs versus Keyboard and mouse? Sorry, but it's not even close.

[SixtyNine]

That, and other potential disadvantages. Since the PC is an open platform it is more susceptible to exploits.

[FriedGoat]

in a game like war thunder Keyboard + mouse < Controller/Joystick

[Tempest317]

The game may be more "authentic" or comfortable with controller/joystick, but kbm is still far superior in every other way. Ive played war thunder on ps4 AND pc, and kbm still shits on controller as far as accuracy and aircraft control. I actually have a kbm connected to my ps4 specifically for WT, so we cant really use the "kbm is better" anymore. As long as devs add in support, they can give consoles the same control advantages/choices as pc.

[WeAreLegion]

You don't play War Thunder, do you?

[stragomccloud]

I don't play all of my games with Keyboard and Mouse, I'm a pragmatist. Games like Alan Wake, Darksiders, Tombraider, etc., I play with an Xbox 360 controller.

Some games are better with Keyboard and Mouse, for others, a gamepad is better. It really depends on the game's gameplay and interface.

Also, PC isn't a den of exploiters and hackers/cheaters like a lot of people seem to believe. I've very rarely encountered such issues in my years and years of gaming on the PC platform.

[Hicken]

So why can't you use kb/m on XB1?

[stragomccloud]

I've always wondered why consoles don't allow the option.

[MasterCornholio]

@stragomccloud

Well its up to the developers. For example FF14 can be played with a mouse and keyboard. But I do agree with you that developers should allow Mouse and Keyboard to be used with their single player games. Somehow mixing mouse and controller with an FPS doesn't seem right to be.

[Hicken]

Not consoles. The PS4 supports that format, if only for certain games.

This game is one of them.

It was the same last gen. Back then, Microsoft said they didn't allow cross platform play because they couldn't guarantee the quality of the internet on other platforms. Which never made sense to me. It's not like they were using dedicated servers, anyway. And I'm seeing a lot of excuses about previous failed ventures in that arena; so that one game that didn't work out means you never try it again?

Sounds like excuse after excuse to me.

[KonsoruMasuta]

This is the main reason a lot of MMOs and other games are skipping Microsoft's consoles. I read somewhere that this was the reason Square skipped Xbox with XIV.

[Ratty]

It was two reasons:

First, like you said they wanted Xbox players to play with each other only.

Second, they wanted to put it behind the gold paywall like they did with FFXI and apparently Square was against it this time around.

[raWfodog]

I agree as I believe that you don't need to subscribe to PS+ in order to play FFXIV. But you do still need to subscribe to the MMO after the initial 30-day period.

[stragomccloud]

Good thing FFXI wasn't put behind the gold paywall. For a few months my PC was out of commission, and I picked up FFXI for 360 in the meantime to continue my adventures. I would not have done so had they required Xbox Live Gold.

[bleedsoe9mm]

xb gamer "i'm going to stick my **** inside you"
pc gamer "i normally have to pay for that"
xb gamer "thats why i pay for xb live"
pc gamer "you pay to play multiplayer , you don't have to pay on pc"
xb gamer "screw consoles i'm buying a steam machine"

[WeAreLegion]

To be fair, Sony and Microsoft host most of the multi-player servers, themselves. Valve is spending less money maintaining online servers than Sony and MS.

[No_Limit]

Good, don't want to play with a bunch of PC cheaters and their advantage of a mouse and keyboard.

[Tempest317]

As I said above, ps4 version has kbm support...no reason they couldnt support it on x1 as well.

[nicksetzer1]

They have had that policy ever since shadowrun flopped due to keyboard vs controller (as well as pc players modding/cheating etc) ....MS did it first, tried it out, and it failed, even project spark which has cross platform content does not allow any interaction between pc and xbox players. I don't get whaT is suprising here.

However, as much as it makes sense for competitive games to be seperated, they should reconsider for the sake of MMO's, especially ones with a focus on coop and community.

[ZombieDust]

Its not surprising its that this site is flooded with fanboys, and people who live their life to get likes so they talk trash any chance they get about xbox in order to fill their lust for internet approval. Ever think Microsft doesnt want cross plarform because it may not work well? We shall see.

[KonsoruMasuta]

It works just fine in all the cross platform games I play.

[No_Limit]

Agreeing totally with nicksetzer1 and ZombieDust. MS has been at the forefront of network gaming for years now and they know what works and what doesn't.
Watching comments from haters here makes my day go by faster. :)

[mhunterjr]

There are some games that could work between console and PC, and some that wouldn't. MMO's typically would work, FPS, not so much...

Overall, I don't think it's a huge deal. I understand where MS is coming though, it would be tought to maintain a unified experience. Here I am in xbl, trying to add this PC player I just met to my friends list, how does that work, when the other guy doesn't actually have Live? How would the party system work? The chat system? What about the player abuse system...Who would handle those complaints? It would be really tough for MS to guarantee a consistent service to their customers...

I think what's happening on Playstation (please correct me if I'm wrong), is cross connected games typically requiring a separate account, and playing such a game occurs on a separate network from PSN. That's great for folks who have an urge to play a long with PC players. But is a disjointed solution.

[Flamingweazel]

They dont require a second acount, you are full of crap, and clueless. it works seamless.

[mhunterjr]

"I THINK" "correct me of I'm wrong"

Perhaps you could do something useful, like providing insight into the matter instead of throwing insults around....

Please tell me how the friends/invite/party/chat/trop hy/player reporting systems work between players on PSN and PC. I genuinely want to know. I can't find anything on it.

If I'm playing last of us on my PS3, can I see my PC friend online playing Team Fortress 2, then send him a message to join me in a cross-platform game of FF14? If not, the I don't see how you can say its seamless....

[OiNioB]

I tried switching to Xbox Control for Battlefield, was doing noticeably worse against other players who were using mouse and keyboard almost immediately.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Despite X1 being the easiest console to communicate with PC's.

Windows Operating system
And DX12 compatible API X1 and PC'S
New Dell partnership developing each others tech and OS's

MS wake up X1 cross PC is your strength with the new console!!

Why would hold back your greatest strength!

SMH...

[born28]

Because of the accuracy of M/K combo the players using their thumbs to control the game would get raped exponentially on any game using this feature best to keep em' separated.

[Angeljuice]

That's simply not true, you can perform maneuvers with the pad that you can't with the keyboard and mouse. You're flying a plane so you have to be able to move in every direction.

A plane uses a stick and foot pedals to maneuver, its the best way to control a real plane and that control system lends itself much better to the sticks on a pad than a keyboard and mouse (although the default settings are mapped similarly to kb/m and should be changed to gain the advantage).

[kingPoS]

You ever try Super Street Fighter 4 AE with a keyboard?

Gateway MT6706 2008

[hiptanaka]

So much for Microsoft's renewed focus on PC gaming, lol.

[ClevelandSteamer]

Microsoft is behind the curve with Xbone Live. When the 360 had the blade gui, XBL was the "it" multiplayer gaming service. With Xbone it is add bloated, hard to navigate, missing features you want "Voice Messages" and full of features you don't want. Anti-Hacking/Cheating is not working like it should, gamer reputation has never worked like they advertise. Simply put Xbl is a mess.

They need to get rid of the lame windows 8 look, and get back to their roots as a solid gaming platform. Cross platform games can be a good thing for the right game, but MSFT needs to be more open with developers. Xbone seems like a money grab to make stock holders happy.

[ElementX]

I own PS4, Xbox One, and a gaming PC and I wouldn't want to play with PC gamers on either Xbox One or PS4 and vice versa. PCs can use macros and have a lot more options for customizable controls plus they are more precise with mouse aiming. Gamers with multi-monitor setups also have an even greater advantage. PCs also load games/levels faster and gamers would have to wait around for the console players to load the maps. If console players are playing at a capped 30fps then a PC running at 60+fps would also be an advantage. I just don't see cross platform gaming working out very well.

[Hicken]

It's been depressing watching you spousal down into delusion. It does no good to dismiss things outright, or only look at one side of things, like you do.

For example, not every PC gamer will have a multi monitor setup, so they won't all have that advantage. Or macros. Why would a cross-platform game be capped at different framerates?

And what's stopping you from using your keyboard and mouse on your XB1? Oh: Microsoft.

It's just sad to see you trust things automatically so it's okay for whatever Microsoft says or does, when you used to think much more independently.

[Hassassin]

That would be like not letting laptop users play vs tower PC users or joystick users...

[CrowbaitBob]

Yeah, cuz Trials Fusion on my PS4 or Xbox One wouldn't possibly be any fun with a buddy playing on PC. Rayman Legends co-op console/PC would be a total waste of time./s

You've gotta remember there actually are more online games than just shooters and other twitch based competitive games. Cross platform makes a lot of sense, even if it doesn't always make sense to everyone.

[Flamingweazel]

MS with moronic policies, behind the curve with everything, only sheep defend their poor anti dev policies, they are bad for gaming period.

[Wikkid666]

Cross platform play between the XOne and X360 would make a lot more sense to me.

[Joe913]

That sucks wish we can play cross platform PS and Xbox that would be so nice be true console wars lol.

[Nine_Thousaaandd]

I hear this game is pretty awesome on PC, and runs really great on PS4. PC and PS4 gamers playing together on select titles...a huge win for the gaming community.

I feel bad for Xbox fans...Microsoft really needs to wake up, and stop trying to control everything. I don't get it, allow your community to enjoy games with the likes of PC gamers...sometimes!

[AD705]

and MS is claiming they have a renewed focus and are really serious about pc gaming?

[windblowsagain]

Actually it's a shame this doesn't happen.

I remember beating players on dreamcast vs PC. Yes i was on the PC and quake3. Was too easy because fps/ mousekeyboard.

But a flying game would be fun against whoever.

As for other games.

They should do one day when a PS4/XBOX game can be played against eachother.

[urwifeminder]

Does this mean Planetgrind 2 will be pc and ps4 cross play? takes you 75 years each rank.

[CrowbaitBob]

The headline makes it sound like Microsoft has taken a hard stance against cross-platform play. The actual article sounds a lot closer to "we like the idea, we just haven't sorted it all out yet."

I think it would make sense for Microsoft to eventually support cross-platform gaming if they actually want to push a common OS across every platform.