It seems that amidst the political turmoil of the world a shining hope of society has begun to broker peace among its people. December 9, 2019, Microsoft finally announced that the PlayStation 4 will be joining the Bedrock version of Minecraft, giving players the ability to play and connect accounts between Xbox One, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android mobile devices, and the Gear VR system. For years the PS4 version of Minecraft isolated players to their own console ecosystem, but not anymore, and this olive branch will hopefully open the pathway for more games to join.
Now, the fact that Minecraft achieved such a feat isn’t out of this world, in fact, I had expected this to happen eventually. Notch’s little indie game has grown to become one of the largest in the world, so, it was only a matter of time until Microsoft unified the game under one version. This transition was signaled by the release of the Switch and PC versions of Bedrock leaving only the PS4 out of the ecosystem, until today. With a small collection of cross-titles releasing on the PS4, now including the largest game of the past decade, it begs the question, what’s next?
What’s Next?
The PS4 is now slowly warming up to the idea of opening its pearly gates, allowing players to join in comradery in their favorite games. Here are a couple of suggestions for games that should be added to this library for those Sony executives reading this article (I know you’re out there). This game trifecta consists of titles that I believe would work best between platforms and all have the highest chance of becoming the next console crossing smash hits. At the end of this article let me know what games you think should be added or if Sony should be keeping its servers locked down tight.
Destiny 2
To clarify, Destiny is the only one of these three titles that I haven’t played much of, and no cross-platform play is the reason for that. Destiny 2 is a solid shooter and multiplayer experience on consoles already but imagine the shared world when every platform joins as one. The barren expanses of alien worlds become filled with other players, queuing for a raid takes less than an hour, and finally, my PC friends can carry me through a Leviathan raid. In all seriousness, the cross-platform play in Destiny 2 would fill out a universe that seemed too empty when I last played.
Overwatch
Overwatch has a special place in my heart as one of the best shooters ever made. The polished gem Blizzard has created here really shows what a team-based shooter can be, and that balance smooth gameplay is why this title would work so well across platforms. All major consoles already have a version of Overwatch and previous FPS games (ex. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) have made the transition well enough from the segregated server style. Finally, I am tired of buying loot boxes on different platforms for the same skins! So please, Blizzard, save our wallets and get this game opened between platforms.
GTA Online
GTA Online is a no brainer on this list, thus I have saved it for last. As one of the biggest online communities in gaming, a behemoth of revenue for Rockstar, and more addictive than cheesy breadsticks, GTA Online would explode in popularity if introduced to Cross-Play. It seems that everyone I know has a copy of GTA: V on one (or two) of their consoles and so, with opening multiplayer across platforms we could see one of the largest online communities become an absolute unit. With the already large player base and revenue stream, this title would have to be my most likely pick for the next Cross-Platform surprise.
