Over the years, companies have taken different approaches to cross-platform play. Some, like Microsoft, have been pretty open to it. Others, like Sony, are less inclined to open up their games for cross-platform.
In a nutshell, cross-platform play is when games allow you to play against other players on other systems (such as someone on Xbox playing Fortnite against someone on PS4). Google has made it clear that Stadia will support cross-platform play to the greatest extent possible.
Which games will support cross-platform play?
As of this writing, nothing has been nailed down for sure. It’s suspected that titles such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and DOOM Eternal will support it, but there hasn’t been an official announcement yet.
There’s also the angle of cross-progression, which allow you to play the same game on multiple platforms and keep your progress intact. This is a bit more rare, but we’re seeing it more often as games start syncing progress to their own servers, so the platform you use matters less. This isn’t something Google can necessarily address directly, as it’s up to the individual game publishers to create/enable this feature, but it’s something Google certainly will want to support.
We’ll hear more about cross-platform games in the coming months, and we’ll keep you updated as more news comes out.