One of the most asked questions regarding Tekken 7 has been if the title will support cross-play. When the title was officially announced for the PS4, Xbox One and PC, cross-play was still up in the air. I thought this was mentioned before, but there was still some uncertainty. Recently, Katsuhiro Harada has stated via Twitter that neither versions of the game will support cross-play.
With their security policy P2P can not be used between 3 platforms(Can't split PC ver).
Don't ask me. ASK 1st party.
RT@logokas @Jenny_Cage— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) March 5, 2017
Specifically, this means that you won’t be able to play matches between the Xbox One, PS4 or PC. Typically there’s either some sort of cross-play between Xbox vs PC or PS4 vs PC. Both Killer Instinct, Street Fighter V, and Rocket League are examples of this. However, for Tekken 7, there will be no cross-play between any platforms. Meaning that while both the console versions will likely see a healthy amount of players, the PC version may be in a bit of a pickle. While more and more fighting games end up on the, they’re still considered niche. Fighting games on the PC traditionally don’t have large amounts of players. This decision to not allow any cross-play for at least that platform is discouraging, and may kill any changes more Tekken games on the PC.
Looks like Harada is also getting a little frustrated with all the pushback regarding this decision. I don’t envy the man, but I can see why he’s upset. He’s basically stuck between MS and Sony, who are ultimately the ones who can resolve this.
Can't split PC version…DON'T ASK ME AGAIN. Ask 1st party!!!!
RT @daiconlovesyou @logokas Give us PC dudes crossplay with Xbros then?— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) March 5, 2017
Remember, TK7 has P2P network & 3 platforms.
It's not my issue. 1st party security issue.
Ask 1st party and don't ask me again.— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) March 5, 2017
I’m willing to bet this will also affect any ongoing PC development from Bandai Namco if the PC version doesn’t do well. Seeing how there will be no cross-play support, I can’t see anyone really picking up the title on PC. Outside of benchmarking, and those wanting to see it running in 4K. I was really hoping that Tekken 7 would be the first of many cross-play titles to bridge the three gaming platform gap.
Tekken 7 releases for the PS4, Xbox One and PC on June 2nd, 2017.