Counter-Strike: GO This Summer Without Cross-Play
The whole cross-play feature between the PC, Mac and PlayStation platforms has been dropped over update timing issues.
On Monday, Valve said that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will launch sometime this summer for the PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Although the studio didn't nail down a specific month, they said the public release will arrive with new and updated maps, new gameplay modes, leaderboards and more. What it won't ship with is the previously-announced cross-play feature.
"The beta has proved we want to update not just the beta, but the game itself post-launch frequently on the PC," Valve's Chet Faliszek revealed to Joystiq. "To do that we need to separate the platforms so one doesn't hamstring the other. So for that, we have removed the idea of cross-platform play -- essentially make all platforms stronger by not mixing them."
The original idea was to allow PC gamers, Mac gamers and PlayStation 3 owners to battle each other online instead of locking the console players strictly to Sony's PlayStation Network. PC and Mac gamers wouldn't have the upper hand because the PlayStation 3 supports both a USB-based keyboard and mouse. The playing field would essentially be balanced on the controller front, at least.
And while Sony's approval system is a bit more lax than Microsoft and its Xbox Live network, the process of getting updates past Sony's guard dogs reportedly makes for a lengthy update rollout, a rollout that apparently can't keep up with the updates provided for the PC and Mac. That said, either the PC and Mac platforms would see reduced if very little updates at all, or Valve would simply sever the cross-play connection. Apparently Valve chose the latter method.
As it stands now, it looks as though Counter-Strike: GO won't have cross-play whatsoever, even between the PC and Mac platforms although it's possible that the feature could be re-implemented later on. Console gamers will be left out of the loop however, playing solo on their respective "closed" networks.
Looking back, the Xbox 360 version was never a factor in the cross-play design, as Valve couldn't distribute updates via Xbox Live whatsoever. This was apparent back in August 2011 when Gabe Newell was still trying to sweet-talk Microsoft into allowing SteamWorks (via Portal 2) on the closed network.
"The main thing is having Microsoft get comfortable with [Steamworks] and let us do it," he told Eurogamer. "Right now, there's a huge amount of updates and free content we've been able to deliver to people who have The Orange Box that we haven't been able to deliver to the Xbox because of the restrictions that have been placed on us on Xbox Live. We'd love to see those relaxed."
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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gaborbarla I would have loved to see the Cross-play again even though it hass been proven to be a bad idea before. Unless PS3 and XBOX players like pain, they should never even try cross-play.Reply -
alidan why not do this...Reply
enable cross play, and recertify it every time that the console update goes through...
its an idea i had for a while because some people prefer prenerf gameplay, why not have several versions able to play and load? if you want to play cross play, you play on console level update, if you want to play up to date, you only play with your own kind. -
Unless they bring back the Riot shield. Don't care.Reply
that was the BIGGEST mistake with CSS IMHO. CZ > CSS. also, not sure if it's just me, but CSS feels like the movement speed is slower than CZ and 1.6 for some reason... -
hardcore_gamer The real reason for dropping the cross -play is that PC players can easily beat all the console kidsReply -
giovanni86 The real reason is because it doesn't cost them anything or very little to do updates through steam. When on the consoles it does, not sure about Sony, but on Xbox live it does. I'm skeptical on how well CS:GO will do, it didn't look very ground breaking when i saw it. I will see how it does once its released I'm in no rush to pick it up considering i still enjoy all 3 versions of it today.Reply -
ivyanev Of course console makers wouldn't want a game to be available for all users whenever theirs console is.That means when users love to play with friends they couldn't cause of lack of computer/console ,they will want more such games. And this will make benefits of one platform over another rather blur.Reply -
beetlejuicegr I was a very good online squad fps player, in clanbase ladders and eurocups, i have to say i am so rusty now, i wouldn't mind see some crossplay on CS:GO hehehReply