Syncing your progress with traditional media is a convenient way to seamlessly continue enjoying your entertainment across different devices. For example, if you’re watching a movie and need to switch from one device to another, you can easily pick up where you left off. The same convenience applies to reading with Kindle’s Whispersync feature, allowing you to seamlessly transition from reading on your Kindle to picking up where you left off on your phone or Audible app.
However, when it comes to gaming, transferring progress can be a lot more challenging, especially in story-heavy games that track your choices or multiplayer games that reward playtime with loot and customizations. Each player’s playthrough, character stats, and world states can be unique, making it more complex to transfer and sync game progress across platforms. Without cross-progression, switching between platforms or rooms may require starting over and losing recent progress. For the gaming industry, widely adopting cross-progression could revolutionize gaming similar to how wireless controllers untethered players from their main consoles.
Despite the benefits of cross-progression, gaming companies are still hesitant to embrace the concept due to concerns about losing the stickiness that keeps players loyal to a particular ecosystem. Companies like Microsoft and Sony have been acquiring game development studios to release exclusive titles on their platforms, while Nintendo maintains its homegrown titles exclusively on its devices.
Nevertheless, with the increasing popularity of cloud gaming and subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, gamers are amassing multiple gaming platforms and hardware. This trend of owning multiple platforms has become common, allowing players to switch between different devices seamlessly.
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Developers have also been finding workarounds to enable cross-platform gaming experiences. Cloud services from companies like Ubisoft and CD Projekt Red allow users to create online accounts to sync and transfer game data across different platforms, although this may require setting up multiple user accounts for different services. Despite this minor inconveniences, the ability to play a game like Assassin’s Creed on any platform and switch at will feels liberating for gamers.
An example of this cross-progression is demonstrated in the ability to play Cyberpunk 2077 on both PlayStation and the Steam Deck while being able to seamlessly maintain progress on both platforms. This flexibility allows for a seamless gaming experience, switching from playing on a TV to a handheld device without losing any progress. This type of versatility gives players the freedom to adapt their gaming experience to their lifestyle, whether it’s enjoying intense gaming on a big screen or switching to a handheld device to accommodate other activities, like watching a favorite TV show with a loved one.
In conclusion, while the gaming industry may struggle with the concept of cross-progression due to fears of losing player loyalty to specific ecosystems, the trend of multi-platform ownership and the flexibility afforded by cloud gaming and subscription services is creating a demand for seamless, cross-platform gaming experiences. As developers continue to find innovative solutions and workarounds, players can look forward to enjoying their favorite games across different devices without sacrificing their progress. Ultimately, cross-progression has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry and provide gamers with the freedom to play their favorite titles across multiple platforms.
