The MMORPG Black Desert is planning to introduce crossplay soon. However, not all players will likely be able to participate in cross-platform play.
This is how crossplay will work in Black Desert: According to the developers at Pearl Abyss, the well-performing sandbox MMO Black Desert will receive a crossplay feature in March 2020. However, this will not apply to the PC or mobile versions, but exclusively for Xbox One and PS4.
The prioritization of consoles may be due to the fact that the PC version is years ahead of them in terms of content. While Black Desert went online in its home country of South Korea in 2014 and has an advantage there, it only launched in the West in 2016. The console versions, on the other hand, were released in 2019 – first on Xbox One and later on PS4.
There are therefore several versions, all of which are not at the same level. The console versions appear to be close enough that crossplay is possible from the developers’ perspective. However, fans seem to have a different viewpoint.
First reactions critical: Is it too early?
This is what fans are saying: With the announcement, a teaser for crossplay was also released, which is unlisted on YouTube. There are not many reactions yet (so far 1048 views), but the comments are mostly critical. The reason: The difference between the versions.
The sentiment: Crossplay is coming before the PS4 community is even on a comparable level. Both the lack of content and performance issues are addressed in the first comments.
- “This will destroy the PS4 community. What were you thinking not giving the PS4 time to catch up? Boo, not cool,” says user SlimSumo
- “PS4 needs content first, then it needs to function on the same level, and then they can publish crossplay… releasing crossplay now is a slap in the face to the PS4 community. Crossplay yes, but later,” says another user.
Furthermore, PS4 players do not have enough time to upgrade their gear to the same level – even if the missing content needed for balance were to come with the crossplay update.
Much more is planned for Black Desert in 2020:
