In the past, one of the biggest decisions gamers had to make when buying a console was what games they wanted to play. Many games were exclusive to a specific gaming platform, such as Halo for Xbox or The Legend of Zelda for Nintendo. Exclusive titles helped fuel the console wars that have run throughout the past few decades. Sega and Nintendo started the fight during the Genesis and SNES era, and Sony and Microsoft continue to go head-to-head in the next-gen era of consoles with the Series X/S and PS5.
While these gaming juggernauts continue to compete against each other to become the preeminent force in the industry, their focus on limiting matchmaking to only those on their consoles has lessened. Even though exclusive titles continue to exist (you’re still going to need a Nintendo to play Mario games), more developers are beginning to allow players to connect and play with each other through cross-play. One of those companies utilizing this feature is Blizzard Entertainment. Recently, the company announced that Overwatch cross-play for PC and console is coming in the near future.
Despite the game releasing in 2016, this is still big news for its community. It has around 6 million active players per month. With this many users on a variety of platforms (the game is available on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC), the addition of this new feature aims to remedy the issue of friends not being able to play together.
There’s a lot to be excited about whenever this feature is discussed for a game. However, its implementation in Blizzard’s hero shooter leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s a look at the good and the not-so-good of Overwatch cross-play for PC and console.
The Not-So-Good: Cross-play between PC and console
One downside to this new feature is that Competitive game modes are unavailable when playing between PC and console. Mixed teams can only play casual modes together. The reason behind this decision would seem to be that the developers want to maintain the competitive integrity of the mode for more hardcore gamers. Nevertheless, this remains disappointing for those that hoped to play Competitive matches but are barred from doing so due to the developers’ restrictions.
Another issue pertains to aim assist for console players playing in PC lobbies. Even though the debate between mouse and keyboard vs. controller gaming continues to persist with valid arguments on both sides, this debate assumes that the controller user has aim assist enabled. There is a reason that it exists for console games. Aiming using analog sticks is considerably harder in comparison to using a gaming mouse.
Therein rests the major issue with Overwatch’s new feature: aim assist is disabled for console players that are playing in PC lobbies. These measures aimed at limiting the effectiveness of the controller suggest that the developers fear the impact of controller users on the game. While it would doubtlessly shake up the way matches are played, removing the feature also removes the fun for those attempting to play on a controller. Speaking from experience, attempting to land shots without aim assist is considerably more difficult and frustrating.
McCree is a hero that requires precision aim. This is difficult to achieve on controller without aim assist.
One reason that this decision from the developers is confounding is that other major FPS titles have managed to find a workable solution that allows both mouse and keyboard and controller players to coexist. Examples of games that support cross-play between different input devices include Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone. Recently, ALGS (Apex Legends Global Series) held their championships that boasted over a $1,000,000 prize pool. This event contained teams consisting of both keyboard and mouse and controller players.
It’s important to note that games like Apex enable aim assist with lobbies containing both console and PC players, while Overwatch doesn’t. This raises the question as to why Blizzard decided to add cross-play between PC and console in the first place.
Another question that needs to be asked is why it has taken over five years for the developers to implement the feature. While adding it could prove a challenge, this announcement would likely have made a larger impact a few years ago. This also adds speculation as to whether Overwatch 2 will have this feature at launch.
The Good: Cross-play between console players
It’s not all bad news regarding Overwatch cross-play for PC and console. One of the obvious benefits of this new feature is that it gives players on different platforms the chance to game together. The team shooter boasts numerous modes to play. Between Quickplay, the various modes in the Arcade, and custom games, players have a lot of options available to them if they just want to hang out with friends and have a good time.
The manic firefights of Overwatch are even more fun with friends.
The advantages of this new feature are amplified for console gamers that want to matchmake with other players on other console platforms. Unlike PC cross-play, console players that wish to compete with other console users have the option to play Competitive.
Despite the problems with mixed teams in PC lobbies, it’s still possible to have fun playing the game with friends on PC if you’re a console player. One of the great things about Overwatch is that not every character requires precise aim. While heroes such as McCree and Widowmaker necessitate a steady crosshair, others such as Mercy, Reinhardt, Junkrat, and Lucio can still find usefulness on the battlefield through good decision-making and ability usage.
In addition, Overwatch cross-play for PC and console should help shorten the often long queue times while searching for games as it increases the pool of available players. While the feature can be turned off, the developers note that this carries the risk of increasing your queue time.
Furthermore, to commemorate the arrival of this new feature, players that log in to the game will receive a golden loot box. Also, finding friends is easier due to the Battle.net update; players can now friend other gamers on different platforms.
Overwatch cross-play gives players from different platforms the chance to play together.
While it’s encouraging to see developers continue to bring new features to their games (even years later), this update seems like a half-baked attempt by Blizzard that only manages to satisfy some of its fans. Those teaming up between console versions of the game are in for a great time. It’s the PC side of things where the experience feels unsatisfactory. Regardless, we’ll soon find out how the community responds to these new changes to the game.
