During a presentation at GDC 2019 earlier today, Google unveiled Stadia, its vision for the future of gaming. Stadia allows players to access games on all kinds of platforms, from their laptops, mobile devices, and TV at the push of a button. However, this accessibility wasn't the only well-met feature of the platform.

Google also confirmed that Stadia would offer cross-platform play. Stadia players will be able to play multiplayer with other players in supported games on other, supported platforms. Google has yet to confirm which platforms or games will be supported. However, Google is working with id Software on DOOM Eternal, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Odyssey was part of the Google streaming service's Project Stream test, so it seems safe to suggest that these two will be supported.

Google also said that developers would be able to offer cross-saves and cross-platform progression in their games. While this will probably be done on a case by case basis, by studios who have the time and resources to make this happen, it sounds promising.

It should mean that players who ditch their consoles for Stadia, or move to a platform supported by Stadia but not natively for that game, will be able to pick up where they left off. Like with Fortnite's cross-progression, it will hopefully mean that players will be able to take their unlocks and purchases across, too.

Many gamers and developers will likely be delighted with this news. Some players have longed for the ability to not be restricted by platforms to play with friends, and it seems as if that's what Stadia plans to give them. The Google Stadia cross-play plans also stand out in comparison to Sony, which has dragged its heels in allowing cross-play with the PS4. To date, just two games on PS4 (Fortnite and Rocket League) offer full cross-platform play across PC and all three major games consoles.

Also, this should give developers more ways to retain their players and reduce churn. One could argue that a player will be a lot less likely to up and leave their game for not being able to play it on all of the devices that they have access to. With Google Stadia supporting gameplay on televisions and mobile devices, it means that there will be more places for players to enjoy their games, too. This could lead to additional in-game purchases via microtransactions thanks to Google Stadia's cross-platform capabilities, which would result in boosting a studio's bottom-line.