GAMES
Best Video Games Of 2020 With Crossplay & Multiplayer
In a year where everyone around the world has had to stay apart, multiplayer video games have been an indispensable tool to keep people together. While modern communication methods like Discord and Zoom are great ways to talk to friends, loved ones, and co-workers, the magic of video games provides a different level of much-needed fun and interactivity.
Up until recently, wide-sweeping crossplay was a fever dream for gamers. Even multiplayer games that were available on both the respective Xbox and PlayStation console families were generally isolated to their respective ecosystems and networks. However, this had begun to change.
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Recent years have been far more generous in regards to allowing crossplay, however, as Microsoft, Sony, and even Nintendo have taken massive strides in allowing gamers to play among other console families. Here are the best crossplay games that have come out in 2020.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Call of Duty: Warzone
Though technically an extension of 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s multiplayer, Call of Duty: Warzone essentially operates as a standalone game, and it also has connections with this year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Warzone isn’t Call of Duty’s first foray into battle royale, with 2018’s Black Ops 4’s Blackout game mode setting the initial groundwork, but it has several important differences and is entirely free-to-play.
Featuring the iconic first-person shooter gameplay that put the series on the map, Warzone adopts many unique features that sets it apart from other examples in the highly-saturated battle royale genre. For instance, Warzone’s currency system allows players to purchase classic killstreak-type rewards, revives, and equipment, and its Gulag mechanic provides players with the chance to revive upon death. Call of Duty: Warzone can be played on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
For those looking for a more traditional Call of Duty experience, there’s Black Ops Cold War. Bringing back the storyline (notably absent from Black Ops 4) that was started all the way back in 2008 with Call of Duty: World at War, Cold War fleshes out the Cold War-era plot introduced in Black Ops and Black Ops II.
The game also features the return of Zombies, a series mainstay absent from 2019’s Modern Warfare, as well as the series’ archetypal multiplayer with some new twists and game modes. Black Ops Cold War is available on the same consoles as Warzone – PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Rogue Company
From Smite, Realm Royale, and Paladins developer Hi-Rez Studios, Rogue Company is a tactical third-person hero shooter that takes major cues from games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, and Overwatch. Featuring six classes that are comprised of 16 heroes with a range of unique abilities and quirks, players compete to accomplish various tasks and missions among the game’s three game modes.
Players can play among each other on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, and PC, though parties with any PC players will only be matched up with other PC players.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Star Wars: Squadrons
Part spaceflight simulator, part hardcore Star Wars fan’s ultimate dream, EA’s Star Wars: Squadrons is about as immersive of a Star Wars experience as can be imagined. Set after the events of Return of the Jedi, Squadrons lets players have intense dogfights in classic Star Wars ships.
The game also offers VR and HOTAS support. While Squadrons features a campaign, the main attractions are its two multiplayer modes which allow players on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC to duke it out among the stars.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Genshin Impact
Comparable in many ways to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay-wise, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world RPG from developer miHiYo. Players explore a large fantasy world replete with countless weapons, enemies, and god-like bosses.
With its anime-like aesthetics and action JRPG gameplay, it’s a unique fixture on this list as it’s a story-based role-playing game. Still, Genshin Impact features region-locked four-player co-op gameplay that can be played between PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and mobile devices.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Minecraft Dungeons
Drawing clear inspiration from the likes of Diablo, Mojang’s Minecraft Dungeons is an isometric hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, serving as a creative departure from the series’ sandbox building roots. Unlike other similar games, Minecraft Dungeons features no class system, allowing players to use any weapons and gear that they find.
Featuring procedurally generated dungeons, players can explore, loot, and fight with one another on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, and PC.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020: Spellbreak
Developer Proletariat’s Spellbreak may seem like just another free-to-play battle royale game among countless others in 2020, but it brings some interesting and unique twists. Rather than fighting with guns, players in Spellbreak engage in combat with spells and abilities in a fantasy environment.
Still, the basic elements of modern battle royale games remain – hectic combat, plenty of loot, and a constantly shrinking map. Spellbreak also has a battle pass system, providing players with the ability to unlock rewards like experience boosts and cosmetics. Players can fling spells at one another on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, and PC.
Best Crossplay Game of 2020 Honorable Mention: Among Us
Though technically released in 2018, Among Us was met with very little attention until 2020 upon which it took the world by storm. In a world where people are forced to keep their distance from one another, Among Us managed to be hugely impactful, entering just about every facet of culture, including winning Best Multiplayer and Best Mobile Game at the 2020 Game Awards.
Among Us is a social deduction game in which players attempt to deduce who among them is an Impostor looking to sabotage and kill the other Crewmates aboard their spaceship, similar to the likes of Mafia or Werewolf. Among Us is available on Switch, PC, and mobile devices, with Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions set to come out in 2021.
Crossplay gaming is finally breaking out in the way players have long-wanted it to, and it couldn’t have happened at a more apt time. The console wars will continue to rage as they always have, but allowing an Xbox player to play with their PlayStation-owning friend across the country is certainly a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year.
Author: Dimitri Gedevanishvili
Dimitri is a freelance video game writer for Screen Rant. He is a lover of movies and video games and an even bigger lover of writing about them. In addition to writing, he is a video producer and Partnered Twitch streamer. Growing up in the Seattle area, he attended Washington State University and enjoys watching the Seahawks and the Sounders (usually) win.