The major problem with virtual reality games is that cross-platform play between two different systems is complex. Ubisoft is trying to solve this issue by announcing that all of its VR games will support cross-platform play, allowing PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive users to play with one another.

Ubisoft’s cross-platform play for its VR titles will start with “Eagle Flight,” a first-person game where players fly as eagles over the abandoned streets of Paris. Cross-platform play will allow gamers to team up or race against other players regardless of what virtual reality headsets they’re all using.

“Starting tomorrow, November 29, ‘Eagle Flight’ will support cross-platform play, allowing players on PSVR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive to team up or play against each other,” Ubisoft said in its blog post. “And ‘Eagle Flight’ is just the start. ‘Werewolves Within’ and ‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’ – both multiplayer VR experiences – will also support cross-platform play on their respective launch days.”

Red Storm senior creative director David Votypka also said that making their VR games cross-platform has always been a goal for them. Red Storm is the developer for the Ubisoft titles listed above.The developer has become a standout from other VR game makers as their gameplay focuses on strong multiplayer experiences. Votypka also said that allowing players with different VR headsets to play together “will enhance the social nature” of their games and allow those games to be played just the way they envisioned.

Ubisoft's decision to allow cross-platform play for its VR titles may be the publisher's way of trying to combine the user bases of individual VR headset systems and to build a stable multiplayer experience, as pointed out by UploadVR. After all, there aren't a lot of players on just a single VR system which makes cross-platform play a logical inclusion for a still-growing VR user base.

“Werewolves Within” will launch next month on Dec. 16, while “Star Trek: Bridge Crew will launch on March 14. “Bridge Crew” was originally slated to be released on Nov. 29 of this year, but Ubisoft pushed it back to 2017. The publisher said that the delay was necessary to “deliver the best game experience at launch.”

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