ESO Developers Are Working On ‘Underlying Tech' For Possible Crossplay

Forbes

29-05-2025

Elder Scrolls Online
Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is over a decade old at this point and remains to be one of the most popular and widely played MMORPGs on the market across PC/Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. However, one major caveat that holds it back from being even bigger is the complete lack of crossplay and cross-progression.
That means if you want to play Elder Scrolls Online with your friends, you must be on the same platform ecosystem as them to make it happen. PC players cannot play with PlayStation players, who cannot play with Xbox players, and so on. That also goes for your own accounts as well. If you're playing on PC and then a friend starts playing on Xbox, you can't use the same character at all.
During a podcast recording with Greg Miller's Kinda Funny, as reported by PCGamesN, Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) game director Rich Lambert and ZeniMax Online Studios head Matt Firor talk about the studio's plans for the game's future. Of course, one of the biggest questions posed is whether or not crossplay is ever coming.
"Anything is possible," says Lambert. "We're working on doing some underlying tech changes that would make it possible," adds Firor. 'We know how important it is. Starting work on this game in 2007, [we]
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Elder Scrolls Online, like any other MMO, is the type of game many players spend hundreds of even thousands of hours playing over the course of several years, so asking them to abandon an account with that type of legacy just to play with someone on another platform is a very big ask. Hopefully, a remedy is finally on the way in the form of crossplay.
Over six years ago, I wrote about ESO's lack of crossplay and now we live in an era where games like New World, Throne and Liberty, and the upcoming Chrono Odyssey all have crossplay as a core part of their marketing appeal. For all intents and purposes, Elder Scrolls Online is getting left behind in this regard.
In the meantime, there's a lot to look forward to for the rest of this year with ESO. In June, the Return of the Worm Cult kicks off as a continuation of the original main storyline alongside more Content Pass changes and the introduction of subclassing, which will dramatically change the way players build out their characters.
For a decade-old MMO, those are some pretty massive, sweeping changes so it's great to see the folks at ZeniMax Online Studios willing to take big risks with ESO even though they could have chosen to continue playing it safe.