The gaming landscape is teeming with players today, and competing against or teaming up with each other is a mainstay of this collaborative realm. Crossplay has become essential for games to expand their horizons – and player pools – letting you match with competitors across PC, Xbox, PS, and Nintendo Switch.
Alien Fireteam Elite, the survival shooter game developed by Cold Iron Studio, came out with a massive update around a year after its initial release in 2021. The challenging, addictive title involved collaboration with Disney’s 20th Century Games.
So, where does it stand vis-à-vis crossplay? The core mission of this Alien Universe game is to survive four campaigns to explore an enticing but dangerous planet, the LV-895. You and your team must face and conquer Xenomorphs, Prowlers, and Spitters – as nasty as their names sound!
Cross-platform play on Alien Fireteam Elite
Without much ado, here’s the news many gamers will appreciate: crossplay support is available on Alien Fireteam Elite. The July 2022 update unfurled several spectacular things for the title – cosmetic DLC, enhanced character classes, more potent weapons like four new guns, and a new game mode. It also introduced complete crossplay between Xbox One S|X (the game is now on Xbox Game Pass service), PlayStation 4 and 5, and gamers on Windows Store.
Alien Fireteam Elite became available on Nintendo Switch (as a Nintendo Switch Cloud game) in April 2023. The Switch is also included in the full-coverage crossplay feature. It means players on Steam and consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch) can team up for more thrilling gameplay than ever before. You can play with friends on a different platform or let Quickplay pit you against a player.
A More Powerful Fireteam: What else did the 2022 Update Pack?
The game already allowed players to choose their weapons and unique perks (around 130). As we mentioned, the cosmetic rewards are among the novel enchantments of the game. The title now has a Prestige subtitle, and an improved ranking system is now in force. You can better your rank to unwrap rewards after you reach level 20.
The new game mode is called “Restock Turrets.” As you might have guessed from the name, it is a horde mode with included turrets that you can restock with ammo. It can help defeat your foes. However, gamers must judge the best time to use turret support, as the stock can be limited! All in all, there are thirteen new attachments to explore.
The developers have also worked on the challenge cards, which can now work in every game mode (as opposed to only the campaign mode earlier). The improved fabrication re-processor lets players use three challenge cards to create an all-new one. You also have nine new challenge cards.
Alien Fireteam Elite 2023 update
In October 2023, the game announced a patch update with quality-of-life enhancements. The main improvements were reducing errors encountered during matchmaking, crossplay, queuing, and crashes. The team also fine-tuned the AI for Alpha and Beta, included all game modes in Quickplay, and resolved tiny bugs in sound effects and animation.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite received a mixed reception when it first launched. However, developers have persevered to improve the content and the playing experience. They even launched paid campaign expansions like Pathogen, offering new missions, maps, and rewards. The incorporation of crossplay brought more players into the fold. Even though the game can be a solo adventure, a formidable team of three can be more fearsome for the enemies, eh?
Watch this space for further updates on Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Cold Iron Studio’s new project. We hear they are creating an even more fascinating experience that builds on lessons learned from Fireteam.
