'Rocket League' update 1.18 enables Xbox One/PC cross-play

Rocket League official web site

Developer Psyonix has just released a new patch for its ball mayhem title "Rocket League." While the update brings improvements and tweaks to the game, the most noted feature for the patch is that it unlocks cross-play functions between the Xbox One and the PC.

In the patch notes posted on the "Rocket League" website, Psyonix underscores that the update now unlocks cross-playing between the Microsoft console and the PC via Steam platform. This means that the player roster for team-based plays will become mixed, with Xbox One players mingling together with their PC counterparts in "Rocket League."

Noting the new feature for the game, Psyonix vice-president Jeremy Dunham stated, "Nearly 2 million Xbox One players have already competed in Rocket League since we launched in February 2016, but with today's new cross-network update, your potential pool of teammates and opponents will grow even larger!"

The company executive also mentioned that the new feature is largely thanks to the players, who have wanted the cross-play function to be added as early as Microsoft's announcement last March. Dunham added, "It's an historic moment for us here at Psyonix, and we're really excited to bring Xbox One and Steam PC players closer together. Cross-network play has been something that Xbox One gamers have been asking us for since the day we launched, and thanks to Microsoft's new cross-network policies, we're proud to give it to them."

Although "Rocket League" is the first-ever Xbox One game that has cross-play features with the PC, the feature itself is not a novel idea. Other classic titles like "Shadowrun" on the Xbox 360, as well as "Portal 2" on the PlayStation 3 have cross-play features as well.

Meanwhile, with the introduction of "Rocket League," fans expect other titles to also add cross-play features between their Xbox One and PC versions. However, Microsoft has yet to come out with a complete list of titles.