# Cross-Platform Play

> Cross-platform play enables gamers on different hardware — PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, mobile — to play together in shared multiplayer sessions.

Source: https://metavert.io/cross-platform-play  
Updated: 2026-03-17

**Cross-platform play** (crossplay) enables gamers on different hardware platforms — PC, [PlayStation](https://metavert.io/sony), [Xbox](https://metavert.io/xbox), [Nintendo Switch](https://metavert.io/nintendo), mobile, and [cloud gaming](https://metavert.io/cloud-gaming) — to play together in shared multiplayer sessions. What was once technically difficult and politically contentious among platform holders has become a baseline expectation for multiplayer games.

The technical challenges are substantial. Different platforms run at different frame rates, use different input methods (controller vs. mouse/keyboard vs. touch), have different certification and update cadences, and use incompatible identity and friends-list systems. Cross-platform infrastructure must handle account linking, cross-platform matchmaking that accounts for input-method advantages, synchronized game state across heterogeneous clients, and unified commerce for shared inventories and purchases.

[Epic Games](https://metavert.io/epic-games) was a pivotal force in making crossplay mainstream. Fortnite's massive player base gave Epic the leverage to push Sony — historically the most resistant platform holder — to open PlayStation to crossplay in 2018. Epic Games Online Services now provides free crossplay infrastructure to any developer, regardless of engine. [Gaming backend](https://metavert.io/gaming-backends) providers like PlayFab (Microsoft), Beamable, and Pragma also offer cross-platform identity and matchmaking as managed services.

Cross-platform play is closely linked to cross-platform progression (carrying saves, unlocks, and purchases across devices) and cross-platform commerce (buying a skin on one platform and using it on another). These economic dimensions are where platform holder resistance is strongest, because they involve [take rates](https://metavert.io/take-rate) — each platform wants its commission on transactions. The ongoing evolution of [digital commerce](https://metavert.io/digital-commerce) and [webshop](https://metavert.io/webshop) models is reshaping these economics.

## Related Topics

- [Multiplayer Networking](https://metavert.io/multiplayer-networking)
- [Matchmaking & Rating Systems](https://metavert.io/matchmaking-systems)
- [Gaming Backends](https://metavert.io/gaming-backends)
- [Cloud Gaming](https://metavert.io/cloud-gaming)
- [Interoperability](https://metavert.io/interoperability)

## Further Reading

- [Games as Products, Games as Platforms](https://meditations.metavert.io/p/games-as-products-games-as-platforms) — Jon Radoff