“Diablo 3” will get cross-platform support in the future

Blizzard Entertainment

• “Diablo 3” is the latest major game to arrive on
  Nintendo’s Switch that’s nearly identical to versions of the
  game on competing platforms, like the Xbox One and PlayStation
  4.
• “Diablo 3” is known for being a multiplayer game, and
  would benefit greatly from bringing in players on competing
  platforms. It sounds like that support is in the
  works.
• The game’s maker, Blizzard Entertainment, says that
  cross-console support for “Diablo 3” is “a question of when, not
  if.”

Yet another huge game from a major game developer is going to let
players across competing game platforms play together.

That game is “Diablo 3,” and it arrives on the Nintendo Switch on
November 2.

That’s the seventh platform that “Diablo 3” will be
available on, in addition to Mac, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. And seven different platforms
means seven different player bases, all playing “Diablo 3” in
isolation. Why can’t they all just play together?

“It’s a question of when, not if,” a Blizzard Entertainment
representative told Business Insider during a gameplay demo of
“Diablo 3” on Nintendo Switch this week.

Though there’s nothing official to announce just yet, the folks
behind “Diablo 3” are actively working with partners at Sony and
Microsoft to enable cross-console play with “Diablo 3” on Switch.

“Diablo 3” in
action.
Blizzard
Entertainment

It’s a classic story in the world of video games: a multiplayer
game is produced for competing platforms, and its players are
unable to play together.

For years, the same versions of “Madden” and “Call of Duty” — and
many others — have launched across competing platforms. But if
you buy the new “Call of Duty” on PlayStation 4, you’re unable to
play with a friend who bought the same game on Xbox One. 

It’s a tremendous bummer, and there’s no good reason for the
limitation. 

Thankfully, it’s a standard that’s quickly evaporating as game
players demand cross-platform support. 

It all started with ‘Minecraft’

The Microsoft-owned blockbuster is available on pretty much
everything that plays games, from consoles to phones to
handhelds.

Microsoft, which makes the Xbox One and directly competes with
Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s Switch, publishes “Minecraft”
on Sony and Nintendo (and Apple and Google) platforms in addition
to its own Xbox consoles.

More importantly, even though Microsoft owns “Minecraft,” the
game can be played across competing devices. “Minecraft” players
on Xbox One can join up with players on iPhone, Switch, Android,
and PC/Mac — even players using a virtual-reality headset!

But Xbox One can’t play with PlayStation 4 and vice versa. That
unfortunately remains the case.

The “Better Together” update to “Minecraft” enabled
various versions of “Minecraft” across competing platforms to all
play nice together. It was an industry-changing
move.
Microsoft/Mojang

Though Sony has yet to give in with “Minecraft,”
the electronics giant blinked when it came to the current
biggest game in the world: “Fortnite”. 

When “Fortnite” launched on Nintendo Switch earlier this year, it
arrived with cross-platform support. Xbox One players could play
with people on iPhone/iPad, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac — but
not PlayStation 4. Worse still, none of the stuff that “Fortnite”
players purchased on their PlayStation 4 — like the Battle Pass,
or any gear — would show up on other platforms, even though
“Fortnite” uses an Epic Games account across all platforms.

Sony refused to budge, which sparked outrage from players. It
even spawned a hashtag: #BlameSony.

And PlayStation 4 owners weren’t the only ones upset — major game
makers and publishers repeatedly, openly criticized Sony’s
decision to silo the PlayStation 4 multiplayer experience from
competing platforms.

“We cannot have a game that works one way across everywhere else
except for on this one thing,” Pete Hines, a Bethesda Game
Studios senior vice president, said in an interview regarding the
launch of “The Elder Scrolls: Legends” on game consoles.

Blizzard is the latest major game publisher to move into
cross-console play — a testament to the ongoing movement toward
truly cross-platform gaming, where multiplayer games simply pull
in all players across all platforms.