The Steam release of Microsoft’s fantastic fighter exclusive Killer Instinct will support full cross-play between Steam, Xbox One and Windows Store users.
This means that players who were loyal to the prior versions of the game won’t have to re-purchase any content to be able to play with their Steam friends.
Announced through the official Killer Instinct forum by community manager Rukari Austin, all players regardless of platform will be able to play with and against each other throughout the entirety of the game’s online multiplayer components.
“Tucked away in this CU is a switch that will enable certain feature you’ve all been clamoring for, and that feature is indeed cross-play,” said Rukari.
“Yes, this is your confirmation that Killer Instinct players on Xbox One or Windows 10 will be able to play cross-network with players on Steam, as well, and we’re super excited to be able to bring that feature to you when KI launches on Steam in the coming weeks.
There is one small caveat, though. We will be testing this feature, making sure all the kinks are worked out (as best as we can) in a live environment. What that means for you is that you will see the option for cross play in your menus, but then there will be times where that menu item is turned off, and seemingly missing. Never fear, that is simply us working on things in the background, and your experience will not be affected as we do our work.
This feature being turned on/off will have 0 impact on your ability to play KI in-network, or between Xbox & Windows 10 players. So please, play to your heart’s content while we do the dirty work in the background.”
Microsoft’s recent push for cross-play support between PC, Xbox and even rival platforms is continuing with one massive goal in mind: unifying players regardless of platform loyalty. This means that players who were loyal to the prior versions of the game won’t have to re-purchase any content to be able to play with their Steam friends. That said, the company’s exclusive library is rapidly dwindling when it comes to console and even their Windows Store–with games like Quantum Break and Halo Wars 2 being available on Valve’s Steam–but it is much more consumer friendly than the alternative.
