Any console, any game; crossplay is generating new opportunities for CWU’s esports. With recent news of Discord partnering with Sony the progression of cross-platforms is taking the gaming community by storm.

As the development of cross-play begins to expand, the accessibility and opportunity of games will begin to rise. Shanon Kessler, intramural sports and special events coordinator, said she believes this news brings hopefulness to CWU’s esports.

“I’m optimistic about cross-play,” Kessler said. “I want to see more cross-play opportunities become available for our participants because the few games that offer it are the most successful in terms of competition and player base.”

Many of the channels offered in CWU’s Recreation Discord cater to games that are cross-platform. This is because cross-play can connect a student who is only playing on mobile with a student who is playing on PC. Although this may seem counterintuitive for fair play in tournaments, CWU’s esports are looking to incorporate more crossplay based games into their events. 

“When we put together any type of tournament league that’s not recreational play but coordinated by us, we include base guidelines and settings to make competitions equitable and fair from one match to the next,” Kessler said.

Sony, a company known for being hesitant about enabling the crossplay feature is finally getting serious about cross-platforms. Though cross-play wasn’t specifically mentioned, the president of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, said that they were looking to expand their players’ experiences.

“We’re constantly looking for new ways to enable players around the world to connect with one another, form new friendships and communities and share fun experiences and lasting memories,” Ryan said.

CWU’s esports will be hosting their first crossplay based games at the end of this month with Rocket League on May 27 and 28 and the end of June with Call of Duty Warzone on June 22-24.

“The future of crossplay for CWU esports will be huge for us because it will make prioritizing what [consoles or systems] we need easier,” Kessler said.