Rocket League Dev on Xbox One/PS4 Cross-Play: We've Got It Figured Out

Rocket League developer Psyonix Studios has discussed becoming the first game to support cross-network multiplayer between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, saying it has already figured out the technology necessary to bridge the two communities.

Speaking in an interview with GameSpot, Psyonix vice president Jeremy Dunham said the only thing left to work out was the politics of the arrangement.

"The only thing we have to do now is sort of find out where we stand politically with everyone, and then it's full steam ahead to finish the solution that we've already started," he said.

"Technologically everything works, we've got it figured out, just a little bit of time to get everything up and running. Right now, excitement is the best way to put it. We just want to get in there and make it happen. Elation is probably another word I would use. We're just excited."

Although Microsoft has extended an invitation to other platforms and networks to connect with Xbox Live, Sony has not yet committed to opening up the PlayStation Network to Xbox players.

Continuing, Dunham said that connecting the Xbox One's Rocket League community with those on the PlayStation 4 and PC is important to the overall health of the game.

"There's this weird psychological thing that happens with people if you let them know that their community is small, even though they're enjoying the game and playing it.

"There's this weird effect where sometimes it encourages them to stop playing if they think nobody else is going to play with them, which creates a snowball effect where other people stop playing because they don't think anyone's going to play."

In addition to creating a larger pool of players, a shared community would also allow Psyonix to make new features and updates ubiquitous across all platforms.

"The more people you have to throw in there, the less likely that psychological anomaly will kick in. Then you have the actual reality of it, which is, more players, for everyone, means more games, and more games means more participation and community feedback, which we can then put into the game as a whole and not have to worry about siloing off certain features of certain platforms because this version doesn't have it, or whatever the situation may be."

As mentioned previously, Sony has not yet confirmed whether PlayStation players will be able to connect with Xbox One players. Currently, Rocket League's cross-platform connectivity will only bring together Xbox One and PC communities. The PlayStation 4 version also supports cross-platform multiplayer with PC.

"We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross platform play," Sony said when asked for a statement on cross-network support.

"PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy XI on PS2 and PC back in 2002."