Killer Instinct First Game to Allow Steam and Windows Store Cross-Platform Multiplayer

Image result for Killer Instinct First Game to Allow Steam and Windows Store Cross-Platform MultiplayerMicrosoft is bringing Killer Instinct to Steam later this year. In and of itself this isn’t big news - Killer Instinct is a four-year-old fighting game that’s already available on the Windows 10 Store. Where it gets interesting is that Killer Instinct will be the first game to allow cross-play multiplayer between Windows Store, Steam and Xbox One users. Killer Instinct is the first game to unite all three platforms, boding well for the multiplayer prospects of Windows Store games in the future.
“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,” said community manager Rukari Austin.
This is a marked change from when this was last a talking point - the launch of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare last year. Steam and Windows Store users couldn’t play COD: Infinite Warfare together online, with the number of Windows Store players online at launch reportedly in double digits. At the time Activision said cross-play between Windows Store and Steam wasn’t possible, issuing a statement that said: "No, you can only play these titles with other users of Windows 10 on Windows Store."
As for Killer Instinct, Iron Galaxy Studios will be testing the cross-platform multiplayer during the next few weeks, with the devs intermittently enabling the feature. They’ve promised this won’t affect the end user's experience.
While Microsoft is loath to bring its first-party titles to Steam, it seems as if most are going to end up there eventually, at least until (or if) the Windows Store really begins to catch on. Not segregating the player base is a great start as it always felt totally counterintuitive that Xbox One and PC players could cross-play, yet Windows Store and Steam players couldn’t. Baby steps Microsoft, baby steps.

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