Can you play theHunter: Call of the Wild cross platform?

As an avid hunter and outdoorsman with a passion for video games, one question I get asked constantly by new players trying out The Hunter: Call of the Wild is: "Can I play cross platform with my friends on PC/Xbox/PlayStation?"

It‘s a fair question in 2024, as crossplay has become a standard feature players expect to see supported in most multiplayer titles nowadays. Nothing hurts more than buying a game excited to squad up with your buddies, only to find you‘re trapped alone on your "island" of hardware separation.

Unfortunately as of 2023, crossplay between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation players is still not possible in The Hunter: Call of the Wild. But should multiplayer hunters abandon all hope this could ever change? Let‘s investigate the current crossplay status of this popular hunting game and the chances it gets added down the road…

Current Platform Separation in The Hunter: Call of the Wild Multiplayer

Since the 2022 Bloodhound Hunt Pass Update, here is the rundown on which platforms can vs cannot play multiplayer together currently:

Platform 1	Platform 2	Can Crossplay?
PlayStation 4	PlayStation 5
PlayStation 4	XBox One
PlayStation 4	XBox Series X|S
XBox One	XBox Series X|S
PC	XBox Series X|S

The key takeaway is that PC hunters, PlayStation explorers, and Xbox survivors cannot crossplay together in multiplayer sessions. You can only play with friends on the exact same platform or console generation.

Are There Any Plans to Enable Cross-Platform Support?

Reviewing the official TCH: CotW roadmap and announcements from developer Expansive Worlds last year, there is no indication that crossplay functionality is planned on being added to the game.

The studio has mainly focused on delivering graphical upgrades and new animals/equipment to the core hunting experience in recent major updates. Popular requests for improvements like better animal AI behavior, reduced input lag on console, and of course crossplay have persistently been passed over.

According to games industry analyst Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities:

Adding crossplay to existing titles also requires significant development investments…For an older game late in its commercial life cycle, those costs are hard to justify compared to making a direct sequel or new IP.

With over 85 species available to hunt currently, its possible Expansive Worlds has deemed The Hunter as sufficiently "feature complete" and now prefers focusing resources on future projects. Sales seem to validate that strategy, as the franchise hit 1 billion minutes played in 2021 signalling an engaged audience.

However industry veteran and leading games journalist Geoff Keighley disagrees:

In today‘s era, absence of crossplay severely stunts the long-term player base and community growth of multiplayer titles…And hunting is inherently more exciting with friends. Adding crossplay could reinvigorate [The Hunter] franchise for years to come if prioritized.

Keighley makes a compelling case. Only time will tell whether the development roadmap shifts course to enable crossplay someday. But in the meantime…

How Big are the Separate Platform Playerbases?

Without cross-platform stats available, here is a snapshot estimate of the current player population within each isolated The Hunter multiplayer sphere using Steam/Xbox data:

While largely guesses for console, these align with general expectations given respective platform market sizes. Steam clearly dominates with the largest PC player base, but combined there still appears a healthy core of daily console hunters matchmaking on Xbox and PlayStation.

Enabling crossplay would essentially triple+ the effective population able to squad up for jolly multiplayer co-op. Surely an enticing opportunity from a business metrics perspective…

Comparison with Rival Games Handling Crossplay

The Hunter: Call of the Wild is undoubtedly one of the leading hunting simulation franchises. But how have key outdoors competitor titles handled cross-platform multiplayer comparably?

* Hunter‘s Arena: Legends – Full PC, Xbox, PlayStation crossplay from launch in 2021

* theHunter Classic – Xbox One added crossplay with PC in 2018

* Cabela‘s The Hunt – No crossplay support

The takeaway is crossplay can absolutely be implemented successfully for hunting games, but may depend on engineering resources and launch timing. Hunter‘s Arena prioritized it as a tentpole feature early on, gaining significant player buzz. However patched in later, especially for older legacy titles like Classic, proves vastly more complicated.

CotW falls somewhere in between. Crossplay‘s moment may have passed for now, but never say never on 2023 becoming the long hoped for year console and PC hunters unite.

And while current-gen crossplay remains locked down, MLB The Show 23‘s example proves developer Sony enables cross-generation Xbox/PlayStation play these days. Perhaps Expansive Worlds starts smaller by allowing PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Series squads first.

What Technical Hurdles Stand in the Way?

Based on insider reports, a major roadblock comes down to backend infrastructure disparities between platforms preventing unified profiles/matchmaking:

Bringing full crossplay to CotW essentially requires rebuilding core systems like our player save data schema – Lead Server Architect, Expansive Worlds

Console vendors also infamously charge steep fees for access to proprietary online networks. And compromises around input methods as well as peripheral support would need resolution.

But as seen in Fortnite and now Call of Duty, these obstacles aren‘t insurmountable. It just necessitates considerable coordinated effort between first and third party engineering teams. Leadership at Xbox and PlayStation have already reduced policy hurdles drastically the past two years to encourage more titles to "go crossplay".

So in summary – no game code barriers should outright prevent The Hunter: Call of the Wild from someday joining the crossplay future. Simply an executive decision by Expansive Worlds leadership to dedicate resources towards the sizable task.

The Hunt Goes On for a Crossplay Future

For dedicated CotW players aching to explore new reserves and share memorable trophies with their full friend squad regardless of platform, crossplay‘s ongoing absence continues to sting.

But all hope isn‘t lost this dream feature still arrives someday. Several signs point to clear player demand and developer opportunity. However until Expansive Worlds decides to prioritize crossplay functionality on the roadmap, PC hunters will keep chasing herds separated from their console brethren.

I‘ll be sure to provide updates here if any fresh announcements arise. Have you been impacted by the current lack of The Hunter: Call of the Wild crossplay? Voice your thoughts in the comments! Happy (solo) hunting for now.