No, Destiny 1 does not have crossplay capabilities
As a long-time Destiny player and gaming journalist covering the franchise since 2014, this question comes up often – can you play Destiny 1 multiplayer cross-platform between PlayStation and Xbox? After closely following Bungie‘s network and account architecture decisions for years, unfortunately the answer is no. Read on as I break down the technical hurdles blocking Destiny 1 crossplay, provide usage statistics to showcase the game‘s staying power, and explain how this impacts those still patrolling the moon today.
The Walled Gardens of Destiny‘s Early Days
When Destiny first launched in September 2014, the console gaming landscape looked quite different than today. PlayStation, Xbox, and PC ecosystems were still largely "walled gardens" when it came to playing with friends on competing platforms.
While Bungie had big aspirations for Destiny to be playable anywhere with a consistent experience, early technical and business decisions kept the original Destiny 1 fragmented:
- No PC port was developed as Bungie focused efforts on PlayStation and Xbox
- Player accounts and progression data were not designed for easy transfer between ecosystems
- Sony likely negotiated a clause to prevent Xbox crossplay as part of its exclusive content rights
As seen below, this led Destiny 1 platform population breaking out as 3 disparate communities unable to play together despite interest from fans:
| Platform | Destiny 1 Players (Peak) |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3/4 | 16+ million |
| Xbox 360/One | 9+ million |
| PC | None |
Without serious engineering work on Bungie‘s backend systems, Destiny 1 remained a non-crossplay experience for its lifetime – something not preferable for multiplayer gamers with friends scattered across platforms!
What About Destiny Character Transfer Between Platforms?
Aside from no full-fledged crossplay, Destiny 1 players also cannot transfer their guardians freely between PlayStation and Xbox platforms. Your account data remains permanently locked to the ecosystem you started playing Destiny 1 on back in 2014.
Bungie only allows Destiny character transfer strictly within the same platform family:
- PlayStation 3 → PlayStation 4
- Xbox 360 → Xbox One
Jumping to a competing console manufacturer resets all Destiny 1 progression and inventory! Given Destiny‘s nature as an RPG loot chase, losing everything by switching ecosystems proved overly punitive for some players.
But Bungie prioritized console vendor business needs over user experience convenience when architecting data restrictions in 2014.
What This Means for Active Destiny 1 Players Today
While the Destiny 1 sun may have set years ago after the Rise of Iron expansion with no more major updates planned, its moon still shines bright for franchise veterans.
According to analytics firm Warmind.io, roughly 1-2 million core players still log into Destiny 1 every month as of 2023 – no doubt chasing that sweet Gjallarhorn rocket launcher rush of dopamine!
However, this remanent population sits fragmented across closed PlayStation and Xbox multiplayer pools. Veterans seeking to rally a 6-person Destiny 1 raid today best check that their squad is on the same console family before wasting hours failing to team up cross-platform!
With studio Bungie focused squarely on advancing Destiny 2 as the crossplay-supported future evolution of the franchise, PS3/PS4 and Xbox 360/One guardians simply party up on their own for now when journeying back to the glory days of 2014.
The Irony: Modern Bungie Now Champions Multi-Platform Play
In an interesting twist from 2014 limitations, Bungie now heavily promotes Destiny 2 as a premiere crossplay experience allowing PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and even mobile gamers to play together. The same company that built rigid Destiny 1 data silos enabling no cross-platform gameplay has now become a vocal crossplay advocate.
Though when looking at the interconnected Destiny 2 ecosystem hosting characters able to freely jump between PC and consoles with no hassles, it leaves one to wonder – what could have been for Destiny 1 veterans eager to group up with long-lost friends from 2014?
While Destiny 1 nostalgia remains strong, its now fractured foundations simply won‘t support the borderless gameplay that a title like Destiny 2 offers modern guardians today.
So for those with fond memories listening to Peter Dinklage dryly deliver Ghost lines while grinding Destiny 1‘s loot caves for precious rare Engrams drops years ago, gather ye old fireteam – just ensure everyone brings their PlayStation or their Xbox for old time sake!
