Destiny 2 Cross-Play Beta Is Now Live

Following its announcement last week, Bungie has launched the cross-play beta in Destiny 2. The feature is now live as of today, May 25, and will run through May 27. It's open to all Destiny 2 players and takes the form of a special playlist, called Vanguard Strikes Cross-Play Beta, on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Stadia. It's accessible through the Director from the Vanguard section, located above the usual Strike playlist node. The new node will match you up with random players on other platforms--you can't choose to intentionally play with a friend on another system. Taking part can earn you a special emblem as a reward.

Word of the cross-play beta came shortly after Bungie mistakenly launched cross-play alongside the Season of the Splicer update; it subsequently had to remove it via a patch. Bungie acknowledged the accident in its latest post, stating, "even though this was caused by a bug, we saw players mingling between platforms, which was awesome! That said, we needed to smash that bug like a subscribe button to get our release back on track." Assuming everything is "back on track," the studio confirmed they intend to keep their original Season 15 launch date, which is set to arrive August 24.

However, while the beta is open for all, it's important to note not all of the game's features will be open to those testing it out. To help ensure the beta process goes smoothly, only the unique Vanguard Strikes Cross-Play Beta playlist will be available in cross-play mode. As noted above, players will be unable to form a fireteam or send invites to friends. The silver lining? Bungie stated that as a "token of our appreciation for your time," all players who complete three Vanguard Strikes from the unique playlist during the beta will be rewarded an exclusive “Stars Crossed” emblem, pictured below.

For now, players are available to partake in the newly released Season 14 (the Season of the Splicer) and check out the Vault of Glass raid, which launched this past weekend. The new Destiny 2 3.2.0.2 update is also now live.