Aliens: Fireteam Elite Won't Support Cross-Play, But Will Allow Cross-Gen Play

Aliens: Fireteam Elite will support cross-gen play, allowing PS4 and PS5 folks to play together and Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S folks to play together. However, if your friend is on PlayStation, your other friend is on Xbox, and you're on PC, you won't be able to play in the same party--Fireteam Elite will not support cross-play at launch.

When asked, Cold Iron Studios CEO Craig Zinkievich told GameSpot that "there is currently no plan for cross-play at this time." So maybe it's added down the line, but it's looking like that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Hopefully a cross-play feature is added one day though, as Fireteam Elite is designed to be played with your friends, repeatedly. Replaying missions allows you to track down the intel that pieces together Fireteam Elite's story and additional lore for the Alien universe.

To encourage folks to keep coming back to the game with their friends after they've already beaten it, Cold Iron Studios has implemented several features.

"Each mission features alternate paths, random objectives, or varied enemy encounters to keep the missions fresh," Zinkievich said. "There's a series of technology and heuristics that modify the population of the mission as players play through."

On top of this, Zinkievich added that players have access to a number of options for customizing the experience of playing Fireteam Elite. You can choose one of five different class kits (each possessing different perks and abilities) and outfit your loadout from a collection of 30 different weapons. There are also five different difficulties and options to change your HUD elements for additional challenge.

"And then there's the 'Challenge Card' system: dozens of different 'mission mutators' that players can play at the beginning of a mission to really change up how the mission plays," Zinkievich said. "Some are cosmetic in nature, but many greatly change up the gameplay by adding additional challenges or added difficulty. Complete a mission with a Challenge Card enabled and you'll earn additional rewards."

If you don't have friends to play with, don't worry. Zinkievich said that there is a public matchmaking system so that players can find others to play with online. And if someone in your party leaves (either on accident or on purpose), you won't be penalized.

"There are no built-in penalties for leaving," Zinkievich said. "If a player drops out or is disconnected, their place is taken by an AI teammate until the end of the mission."

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is scheduled to launch for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC on August 24. Preordering the game nets you a pack of free cosmetic items.