When Microsoft and Iron Galaxy first announced that Killer Instinct would be available on Steam, the question on everyone’s mind was would it be playable via cross-play with the Xbox One/Windows 10 version. Well, after some time and a lot of “no comment”, we finally have an answer and it’s a positive one. Yes, the Steam version of KI will, in fact, be able to play against the Xbox One/Windows 10 versions.
This feature will be unlocked via the upcoming 3.9 update. Rukizzel, the Ultra Combo Community Manager posted this news and let us know what we can expect and when. Check out this update, below.
When you download the latest Killer Instinct Content Update, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll undoubtedly notice something peculiar, so we wanted to give you a heads up at what’s to come before you spotted it in the wild.
Tucked away in this CU is a switch that will enable certain feature you’ve all been clamoring for, and that feature is indeed cross-play!
Yes, this is your confirmation that Killer Instinct players on Xbox One or Windows 10 will be able to play cross-network with players on Steam, as well, and we’re super excited to be able to bring that feature to you when KI launches on Steam in the coming weeks.
There is one small caveat, though. We will be testing this feature, making sure all the kinks are worked out (as best as we can) in a live environment. What that means for you is that you will see the option for cross play in your menus, but then there will be times where that menu item is turned off, and seemingly missing. Never fear, that is simply us working on things in the background, and your experience will not be affected as we do our work.
This feature being turned on/off will have 0 impact on your ability to play KI in-network, or between Xbox & Windows 10 players. So please, play to your heart’s content while we do the dirty work in the background.
Take this as your official announcement that KI will indeed feature cross play. Of course, there are still a lot more features around the KI Steam offering to go over, so keep your eye on ultra-combo.com28 for more information as we get closer to launch.
I can’t wait to see this happen, as we’ve been hoping to see more Xbox/Windows 10 cross-play with Steam users. More so, this could open the door to more Microsoft published PC games on Steam, without losing any sort of cross-play functionality. This will definitely will also play a huge part in growing the Killer Instinct community.
Now we just need a release date for Killer Instinct on Steam, which was rumored to be later on this year.
Source: Ultra Combo forums.