What you need to know
- Destiny 2 already supports cross-save for progression, but players have been missing full cross-play support.
- With Season 15, Bungie is finally adding full cross-play support, and has detailed the update in its latest TWAB blog.
- Cross-play looks to be pretty thorough in Destiny 2, with new name, friend, and invite systems being put into place.
- Some features of cross-play will not be available at launch, but Bungie has provided tentative release windows.
Destiny 2 is one of the best Xbox shooter games you can play, in no small part due to its neverending support and cross-save feature. However, Destiny 2 players have been requesting full cross-play support for online multiplayer for ages, and Bungie has been working on delivering the feature for nearly as long now. Today, during the weekly "This Week at Bungie" blog post, Bungie has finally detailed many aspects of how cross-play will work for Destiny 2.
Some of the most important announcements from the TWAB on Destiny 2 cross-play include:
- Universal name changes. In order to preserve player identities across platforms without conflict or collisions, Destiny 2 will implement a new "Bungie Name" system, which will combine players' display names with a unique number (like "Player#1234) that will persist across all platforms.
- When cross-play arrives, all names will undergo a strict moderation process to remove offensive terms, incompatible symbols, and to consolidate names
- A name change system will not be in place at launch, but should arrive later this year
- Friends and in-game invites. Bungie also wants to make it easier to find your friends and play with them, no matter where they are, so game invites are heading inside of Destiny 2, and an upcoming Bungie.net feature will let you find your friends on every platform to add as Bungie Friends.
- Cross-play pools. Destiny 2 players will be able to mingle with other players from every Destiny 2 platform, with restrictions for competitive modes.
- PC players will play with other PC players
- Console and Stadia players will play together
- Parties with a mix of console and PC players will play with other PC players
- Communication tools. Playing with other players on different platforms requires greater communication tools, and Bungie wants to deliver here. Unfortunately, these features will be incomplete with cross-play for Destiny 2 initially launches.
- Voice chat across platforms has been delayed until shortly after launch
- Text chat will work for PC players, but console players will have to wait until later this year
- Text input from USB keyboards for console players is also coming later this year
If you want to read about every nitty-gritty detail, be sure to check out the full blog post above! Also be sure to check back in, as Bungie is set to announce the next Destiny 2 expansion, The Witch Queen, in the next few weeks. If cross-play is the feature that has convinced you to try Destiny 2, be sure to check out our ultimate beginner's guide to Destiny 2.
Europa awaits
Beyond Light is the next big expansion for Destiny 2, introducing a new element for Guardians to wield, a new area on the Jupiter moon Europa, a new story, and plenty of loot to go around.
