Several major fighting games have embraced cross-play functionality. Capcom's Street Fighter V, for instance, allows PC and PlayStation 4 players to fight it out and the same is now possible in Killer Instict between PC and Xbox One players.
Possibly the biggest fighting game due in 2017 is Tekken 7, which received our prize for best in the genre at Gamescom 2016. Over a month ago, Game Designer Michael Murray stated on Twitter that cross-play in the game would be up to Sony, given Microsoft's publicly confirmed interest in it. That lined up with similar statements by Psyonix about Rocket League and CD Projekt RED about Gwent.
However, Game Director & Chief Producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed another potential hurdle recently via Twitter.
技術的には検証済み、あとはハードのポリシーとセキュリティ問題とPCチートに対するコミュニティ不信感で反発も多いので、ローンチ時はあえてクロスしない可能性大
RT@kyurichan_tk7 お忙しい中すまません。
家庭用鉄拳7ですが、クロスプラットフォームになる予定はありますか？— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 23, 2016
Here's the translation by Flying Monkey (via Neogaf):
It's not a matter of the technology for getting the PS4/XB1/PC players to match up against each other being the issue, but rather first party company policies and potential security risks alongside the community perceived reputation of PC gamers being cheaters that is hindering the decision to allow cross platform play.
Since then, Harada has clarified that this is not his opinion but the community's, since he is himself a fervent PC gamer.
Read my tweet history. It's not my personal opinion. One of community's opinion.
RT@6thBogard Perceived reputation of cheating? Come on..— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 25, 2016
Sometime (Console exclusive title. PS4, Vita, Xbox One, WiiU, 3DS).
But my main is PC
RT@YeezyDude Nice. Do you game on consoles too though?— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 26, 2016
The question remains, though. Will Harada and his team go against a common sentiment in the Tekken community and add cross-play in the game? Only time will tell.
Tekken 7 is, despite its name, the ninth installment in the revered fighting game series. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, it will feature several returning characters like Heihachi, Hwoarang, Jin, Kazuya, King, Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix and Yoshimitsu. There will also be many new characters, including Street Fighter's Akuma which makes a special guest appearance.
Check out Dave's Tekken 7 hands-on preview from Gamescom 2016. The game will be out in early 2017 for PC/PlayStation 4/Xbox One, with PlayStation VR support that still has to be fully detailed.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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