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Multiplayer gaming has come a long way over the years, and we should all be thrilled about that. At first, you could only really play games with one other person, whether it be on a console or while enjoying an arcade cabinet title. Even then, it was limited what you could play and how fun it was. Over time, multiplayer titles got more of a focus, and you could sometimes play with three other friends on one console! Then, when the online era hit, multiplayer games started to break barriers in a different manner, as it was all about connecting with players all over the world. The final step was with Cross-Platform Gaming, so that no matter what system you had, you could play with others, so long as they had the game.
What Was The First Cross-Platform Title?
To properly understand where we are now, we have to acknowledge where things started. For the longest time, cross-platform gaming was not possible. Period. The technology just wasn’t there. It was enough of a feat to do things like have multiple players enjoying one console together, or for Hideo Kojima to pull a “controller swap” mid-game to literally psych out a boss. Well done, sir.
However, when the internet arrived, things finally changed, and possibilities were opened up. So, again, we must ask, what was the first truly cross-platform title? It depends on how you want to frame it, honestly.
If we’re going for the first overall cross-platform gaming title, that would be Quake III Arena back in 2000. That title was coded so that players on PC and the SEGA Dreamcast, of all things, could have fun together.
Then, just two years later, Final Fantasy 11 became the first cross-platform title to feature the PS2 console and PC being allowed to play with one another. Given that this was an MMO, this was considered an even grander feat, due to the large scale of the title.
Since then, cross-platform gaming has grown into a big deal amongst both gamers and developers. For many, it’s more about the ‘principle of the thing’ than anything else. How so? Well, to put it simply, if you have the ability to play with others, why wouldn’t you? When you consider how far technology has come today, it’s arguably easier than ever to do cross-platform gaming and allow players to interact with one another via the games they have. Sure, not all titles can do this by their very natures, but when you look at how many titles are multiplayer-focused or are just straight-up multiplayer games, why wouldn’t you push to have them all connect with one another?
Technology and Bias
While it was possible to do cross-platform gaming early in the 2000s, that didn’t necessarily mean that it was feasible to do so every single time. Just being blunt here, not every multiplayer game was multi-platform, even with PC being there, and that limited the titles that could handle such things. Second, when it comes to large-scale multiplayer games, regardless of whether it’s FPS titles, racing games, fighters, MMORPGs, and so on, you’re putting a lot of strain on the servers that are meant to handle all of it. We often forget about servers for large-scale online games…until they go down.
It’s honestly a feat of engineering that they were able to get things done back in the 2000s, and the fact that we’ve grown so far from there is just as incredible. So, at first, it wasn’t so much a question of “Can we do cross-play with other systems?” so much as “Can we do it without breaking the bank?”
Another thing you have to consider here is that when it comes to cross-platform play, you have to get everyone on board to make it happen. Regardless of whether it’s between consoles or consoles and PC, there are a few higher-ups you need to talk with before things happen.
…and that’s where the next shoe drops. For a whole, including in rather recent times, there was often resistance to cross-platform gaming from certain entities. At first, it was arguably because of the “console wars,” and everyone looking out for themselves. Then, over time, it really just became about greed and not wanting to work with everyone else. Sony was the biggest company to take that line, and it showed in how it often dragged its feet with cross-play across numerous titles, even with games like Minecraft!
Eventually, they softened their stance, and things got better. How much better…? Well, that remains to be seen.
The Rise of Multi-Platform Focus?
So, what is the future of cross-platform gaming? In some ways, we might be closer to it being our “all-encompassing future” sooner than you think. After all, many are attempting to push Cloud Gaming, which could help with cross-play in serious ways. There’s also the fact that with each new console generation, things will arguably be easier to “connect” with other systems and PC, thus lowering the boundaries of cross-platform gaming even further.
Yet, there is still one more avenue we can’t ignore here, and that’s the recent shift that certain developers and publishers are having with their focus on exclusive games versus multi-platform titles.
In the past, especially during certain versions of the console war, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo would focus on exclusives as much as possible, and then get as many 3rd party games on their systems as they could to help pad things out. The multiplatform games were a key part of the strategy, but not the main part.
However, with Xbox, Sony, Square Enix, and more having serious monetary struggles over the years after key titles underperformed or straight-up bombed, they have been making the shift toward having their “key titles” be multiplatform from the start.
We’re seeing this in 2025, especially, which means that they’ll simply want to sell the games and ensure that people play them, so cross-platform play could be a great way to ensure sales and longevity.
Either way, cross-platform gaming will likely be a part of our gaming space for a long time to come.
