For Honor finally gets cross-play five years later

There’s a massive new release of the 2017 hit RPG For Honor, and it’s rumored to be coming on March 17th. The new release is part of a plan to celebrate kicking off For Honor’s sixth year of existence and promises loads of new and updated features. The update is expected to kick off in two phases and will feature a cross-play mechanic for most of the game’s major modes. 

Phase one is due to kick off on March 17th, with phase two’s release still to be announced, but confirmed to be in active development and expected to arrive sometime this year as part of the sixth-year festivities. The most exciting feature in phase one has to be cross-play, letting people on numerous devices across platforms play together. Upon its initial rollout, cross-play will combine PC, PlayStation, and Xbox matchmaking pools into one interface. This will make matchmaking easier and more streamlined. 

One drawback is that Ubisoft says players will have no choice but to re-establish their skill ratings once the new rollout comes. Another is that voice chat will be temporarily disabled for the initial launch on all cross-play matches. This makes a lot of sense as cross-play is a new feature of the game, and it will take a little time for the system to be smoothly integrated for all players across all platforms. Luckily, this is just a temporary thing, and cross-play voice chat will be reintroduced. 

As touched on above, cross-play will be a feature of almost all the main game modes, including PvP and PvE. Unfortunately, it won’t feature as a mechanic in the Campaign, Ranked, Arcade, or Training modes. Custom mode is also not getting the cross-play treatment, at least initially. However, Ubisoft has said that phase two will address this. Another thing to note is that as of the new release, cross-play will be the game’s default setting for supported modes, but you will be able to opt-out of this experience in your settings.

If you’re a fan of games set in the medieval era, check out our reviews for Chivalry: Medieval Warfare and Hellish Quart while you wait for the new release of For Honor.

Author: Russell Kidson

I hail from the awe-inspiring beauty of South Africa. Born and raised in Pretoria, I've always had a deep interest in local history, particularly conflicts, architecture, and our country's rich past of being a plaything for European aristocracy. 'Tis an attempt at humor. My interest in history has since translated into hours at a time researching everything from the many reasons the Titanic sank (really, it's a wonder she ever left Belfast) to why Minecraft is such a feat of human technological accomplishment. I am an avid video gamer (Sims 4 definitely counts as video gaming, I checked) and particularly enjoy playing the part of a relatively benign overlord in Minecraft. I enjoy the diverse experiences gaming offers the player. Within the space of a few hours, a player can go from having a career as an interior decorator in Sims, to training as an archer under Niruin in Skyrim. I believe video games have so much more to teach humanity about community, kindness, and loyalty, and I enjoy the opportunity to bring concepts of the like into literary pieces.