Much to the disappointment of Rocket League fans, developer Psyonix confirms that the upcoming Xbox One port for the sports game will not contain cross-platform play.

When Rocket League was announced for Xbox One during The Game Awards 2015, fans of the race car-soccer hybrid were understandably excited, but unfortunately, it's now been confirmed that the version for Microsoft's current-gen console will not be privy to the cross-platform play feature currently enjoyed between PC and PS4 fans. The unwelcome news comes from Rocket League's developer Psyonix via the game's official Twitter account, with the company asserting that Xbox One players will only be able to face off against one another.

Psyonix's explanation for the feature not being available for the Xbox One is somewhat puzzling, as it says the “Xbox platform doesn’t allow for crossplay”, which is patently false, as games such as #IDARB and Siegecraft Commander both support it. Not to mention, Microsoft has previously advertised the availability of the forthcoming Fable Legends' PC and Xbox One cross-platform multiplayer.

While it's indeed strange that Psyonix would make such an erroneous statement, the announcement regarding Rocket League doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be cross-platform play on the Xbox One sometime post-launch. After all, with the advent of patches and online updates, video games can be improved at a moment's notice. Taking that into consideration, the full text of the tweet just makes it seem as if the studio simply has gotten some bad information, as it also claims that the feature for matchmaking doesn't exist on the console "as a general practice across all titles".

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Psyonix not including crossplay for Rocket League on the Xbox One is possibly not the studio's decision, and could have something to do with Microsoft disallowing developers to add the feature. However, if that's the case, it makes little sense, as incorporating it would surely generate profits for both Psyonix and the tech giant. After all, Rocket League is massively popular, as it has accrued over 1 million sales on Steam, so it will probably make bank for Microsoft regardless, but omitting a popular aspect of the game from its Xbox One port has the potential to hurt rather than help the bottom line.

Despite the fact that it's still relatively new, Rocket League is undoubtedly one of the best party video games ever, so it's unfortunate that fans won't be able to enjoy the title in one massive cross-pollinating platform celebration when it comes out for the Xbox One. Nevertheless, almost anything is possible as far as game development goes, so it bears repeating that the feature could exist sometime after Rocket League goes live for the Xbox One.

What do you think about Rocket League not having cross-platform play on the Xbox One? Does it matter to you if you'll only be able to play with other Xbox One fans? If so, will the feature's exclusion dissuade you from purchasing it for the console next year?

Rocket League is available now for the PC and PlayStation 4, with the vehicle and soccer hybrid game coming to the Xbox One in February 2016.

Source: Rocket League – Twitter