Crossplay is becoming increasingly common in online multiplayer games. However, GTA Online, despite its prominence, may not follow the trend.
With Grand Theft Auto Online expanding to new consoles, it naturally begs the question as to whether or not it supports crossplay. In recent years, cross-platform play has been growing among multiplayer games, to the point that it’s frequently an early question asked of a new online title. With GTA Online being as big as it is, the question rings out even louder.
When a game allows cross-platform play, it naturally grows the pool of players because matchmaking will not be restricted only to players who are using the same console. Several games such as Fortnite and Dead By Daylight use crossplay to great effect. In general, crossplay tends to be well-received because it not only increases the depth of the playerbase but also makes matchmaking much quicker because any player worldwide can be a part of the match. The fact that Overwatch took so long to add crossplay was a surprise speaks to how common and accepted the practice is in online gaming.
Unfortunately, GTA Online doesn’t have crossplay at this time. The benefits of crossplay make it fairly surprising that GTA Online does not feature any sort of cross-platform support. Despite the game having been released across three console generations now, online play is strictly prohibited only to players who are using the same console. While many other online games, both AAA and otherwise, have been making effective use of crossplay, GTA Online‘s absence in that field is more than a little surprising. It is one of the most prominent online games of the era and attached to a major brand, but for some reason, it has not included crossplay. Although considering that players have been banned for switching to Online from GTA 5, this is not the first odd issue that Rockstar has dealt with regarding the game.
Even with the recent next-gen rerelease of the game as well as all of the updates that it has seen, GTA Online has not incorporated crossplay. There have also been no announcements that they have any intention of doing so in the future, so PC and console players cannot play together. However, PS4 players can play with PS5 players, and Xbox One players can play with Xbox Series S players, so players can still play with others who are playing on the same line of consoles. Players can even transfer their GTA Online characters to next-gen consoles. However, that is the only method of crossing consoles available. Xbox players who want to play with a friend who is on PC are still out of luck.
The reason given for GTA Online‘s lack of crossplay is the differences between consoles: The differences in hardware, the location of online saves, and differences in control schemes and graphics limitations are some of the cited issues with crossplay in GTA Online. While those do sound fairly reasonable, it still seems surprising that so many other games are successfully utilizing crossplay while GTA Online does not. One has to wonder how difficult optimizing GTA Online must be if that is the case. Perhaps the planned perks for GTA Online’s Plus Membership may make balancing crossplay difficult.
Cross-platform play is one of the biggest innovations in online gaming, but GTA Online is not a part of that trend. The game is still very large and successful, but players on different consoles still have no way to play together, and unless the developers’ plans change, it seems like things will stay that way. As of the publication of this article, Grand Theft Auto Online does not have crossplay.
Devin Friend is a graduate of McNeese State University with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. A lifelong love of cartoons and video games has given him endless enthusiasm as well as a critical eye for both mediums. Any game or show that catches his interest will be heavily researched and binged for hours on end. He has a great passion for creating characters and storytelling, and spends a lot of free time writing stories of his own.
