Destiny 2 crossplay beta, how crossplay was available early, and full crossplay release date explained
When you can play with Guardians on other systems.
Destiny 2 crossplay has been a long requested feature by the fans - allowing for the ability to play with other Guardians regardless of their system of choice - whether they're on PlayStation, Xbox, PC or Stadia.
2019's introduction of Destiny 2 cross saves is a step in the right direction, allowing you to take your progress to a platform of your choice, but you are then still tied to playing with others on that system.
The arrival of Destiny 2 on PS5 and Xbox Series brings this reality a little closer with the introduction of inter-generational crossplay, and Bungie has confirmed full crossplay is on the way, debuting first in crossplay beta.
Before that, though, with the arrival of Season of the Splicer in May 2021, you could play crossplay in Destiny 2 early for a limited time.
On this page:
Bungie talks Destiny 2 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and cross-generation multiplayer
How Destiny 2 crossplay was made available early
UPDATE (Friday, May 14th): As part of hotfix 3.2.0.0, Bungie has "fixed an issue where some players were able to access Cross Play early" - meaning the below methods are no longer possible. We're keeping this section available if you were interested in how players were able to get crossplay working during the short period.
ORIGINAL GUIDE: Though Bungie has confirmed crossplay is coming later in the year, the arrival of Season of the Splicer saw crossplay made available for some players.
This was recognised by Bungie community team member Cozmo on Twitter, saying the feature wasn't "meant to be live yet and is not representative of the full experience", with a fix coming during launch week of the season (from May 11th). Until then, players are "free to partake" in the feature.
So how does it work? Some players - such as GamerGirlGrey on Twitter - has had luck with clanmates from other platforms appear in the Roster menu, and can join from there.
Crossplay ?glitch? update:
— GamerGirlGrey???????? (@GamerGirlGrey) May 11, 2021
I?m able to join FT again, in the first mission from #XBOX with a #PC Destiny 2 clan mate.@JustManda_ is on PC, me and @xKingAllan are on Xbox. @A_dmg04 @Cozmo23 tagging to give you an update, still works for us. https://t.co/sXkUv8kxys pic.twitter.com/AGAhJpzUWw
The above might work for you right away. However, one reliable way of initiating crossplay with a friend came from ohgodimgonnasquirt on reddit, revealing a method that, while a little more convoluted and requires both players have access to Steam on PC, one we can verify works.
Here's how to play Destiny 2 crossplay early:
- Launch Destiny 2 on PC but don't log in - just leave the client leave it running at the 'press to play' screen.
- Launch Destiny 2 on the platform (Xbox, PlayStation or Stadia) you want to play crossplay with, and log into a character.
- The other player must now log into Steam and add you as a friend. Once done, that player should now see the console player within their Roster in-game, and can opt to join them.
- Once the Steam player joins the console player from the in-game Roster, crossplay will begin.
We assume that though the first player isn't technically logged in on PC, the Steam friend system is able to bridge the gap between systems when the game is running, even with logged in on console.
Remember, a patch to remove crossplay will come sometime during launch week - so sometime between May 12th and 16th - so make use of the early access while you can.
When it disappears, know that this shouldn't be your only opportunity to test crossplay ahead of its full debut...
What we know about the Destiny 2 crossplay beta
As well as the above, a datamine from light.gg alongside the Season of the Splicer patch revealed the tease of a crossplay beta coming soon.
This came in the form of an Emblem, named Stars Crossed, which could be unlocked by completing three crossplay beta Vanguard Strikes.
How and when this beta will arrive is uncertain, but it suggests a dedicated playlist will be added to the game which will pool together players from different systems for a period of time. And, by participating up to three times, the emblem will be yours.
Bungie has yet to officially acknowledge the Destiny 2 crossplay beta, but with crossplay being made available by accident temporarily, it does suggest something might be coming soon.
Season of the Splicer has arrived! New features include transmog and materials Synthstrand, Synthcord and Synthweave, the Splicer Gauntlet and Decrypted Data used to upgrade it, the Aspect of Interference quest, and several new Exotics and a new max level cap. Meanwhile, we can expect the return of Vault of Glass in a few weeks' time. As well as XP farm and Glimmer farm suggestions, looking to the year ahead, we explain everything we know about Destiny 2 crossplay.
Destiny 2 crossplay release date: When will Destiny 2 offer full crossplay between PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Stadia?
Developer Bungie has confirmed Destiny 2 crossplay will be available during Season 15, which has a release date of August 10th, according to the Season of the Splicer roadmap.
Note the above date can change if it's based on when the current Season ends. For example, Season 13 (Season of the Chosen) was originally set to end on May 9th, and was then moved to the weekly reset of May 11th.
When it does arrive, Bungie has confirmed all platforms will support crossplay. Not only that, but there will be no matchmaking between console and PC players in the Crucible unless specifically invited by players themselves.
Until then, players on console can make use of cross-generational multiplayer - allowing Xbox One and Xbox Series players, and PS4 and PS5 players respectively, to play together.
