Aliens: Fireteam Elite reveals that the game will not feature cross-play support when it launches next month, but will support cross-generation play.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite got a lot of attention when it was revealed in March. Now, the developers at Cold Iron Studios have started to reveal more information about Aliens: Fireteam Elite for fans ahead of its next release.
For those who don’t know, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a cooperative third-person shooter that sees players fighting their way through hordes of Xenomorphs as they race through missions. The game takes place 25 years after the original movie trilogy and focuses on action play rather than the survival horror of other recent Alien games like Alien: Isolation. The game has many fans of co-op shooting excited, especially as some have compared Aliens: Fireteam Elite to other monsters in the genre like Left 4 Dead.
Now Cold Iron Studios CEO Craig Zinkievich says the game will not support cross-play. Zinkievich made the announcement while speaking to Gamespot recently, saying that while the feature may be added in the future, there are no plans for Aliens: Fireteam Elite to support cross-play at this time. However, Zinkievich revealed that the game will be cross-gen, allowing PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 players to enter the lobbies together, and the same for Xbox consoles. Since the game is meant to be played repeatedly with friends, hopefully any gamer who was intrigued by the Aliens: Fireteam Elite gameplay trailer will have friends on the same platform as them.
Of course, if players don’t have friends on the same platform as them, Aliens: Fireteam Elite features full matchmaking, as well as AI bots that will help complete a squad if players need it. Zinkievich didn’t say why the game had no plans to support cross-play, but the announcement comes as cross-play has started to become a more common feature for multiplayer games. Games like Borderlands 3 and Call of Duty: Warzone have implemented cross-play, although Epic CEO Tim Sweeney recently revealed that the company has to pay PlayStation to keep cross-play enabled in Fortnite.
It’s definitely possible for Aliens: Fireteam Elite to add crossover play at some point after its release, though you can follow in the footsteps of games like Gang Beasts or Borderlands 3 by excluding PlayStation from their crossover play. Crossplay has largely been a very well-received feature in games that include it, so hopefully platforms will continue to feel comfortable with the feature. Multiplayer titles can then continue to roll out so that players can play with all of their friends regardless of the chosen platform.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite will launch on August 24 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / S.
