Borderlands 3 Finally Gets Cross-Play - But There's A Catch

Gearbox Software is finally cracking open the vault to cross-play potential, as Borderlands is living up to Randy Pitchford's promise that the much-requested feature is on the way. Unfortunately, there's a problem with Borderlands 3's cross-play where PlayStation owners are locked out of joining in on the fun.

Earlier this year, the Gearbox boss promised cross-play for Borderlands 3, and while its June 24 update delivered on that front, it's only available for Xbox, PC, Mac, and Stadia players. Sorry PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners, it looks like you're stuck playing with your console pals - for now.

What's going on with Borderlands 3 cross-play?

There's a PlayStation-shaped elephant in the room, where PS4 and PS5 owners will be missing out on Borderlands 3 cross-play. It was previously thought that this might be the case, with Sony demanding a monetary incentive from 2K Games before it would allow cross-play. In May, Pitchford took to Twitter and explained, "For certification, we have been required by the publisher to remove crossplay support for Playstation consoles". Sony has defended its actions and said this is to "offset the reduction in revenue".

Sony has a chequered past with cross-play and famously banned it from all games for years. It was only in 2019 that it introduced new policies that would allow cross-play, however, they come with a financial nudge from publishers. Similar to the ongoing war between Apple and Epic games, it looks like until 2K or Sony relents, PlayStation owners won't be able to enjoy Borderlands 3 cross-play. 

How do you make the most of Borderlands 3 cross-play?

For those who want to make the most of Borderlands 3 cross-play, you'll have to create a unique Crossplay Display name. Players will be prompted to do this after installing the game's latest update, even if cross-play isn't enabled. The name needs to be between 3-16 characters, start with a letter, and only include a-z, A-Z, 0-9, or non-consecutive underscore, hyphen, or period/full-stop characters. Remember that it has to be unique, you'd better get cracking before the names are gone.

Whether you own a PlayStation or not, the supersized Borderlands 3 update pits you against each other in the "Revengence of Revenge of the Cartels" event - as a sequel to last year's "Revenge of the Cartels". You tool up to go against the neon-clad Joey Ultraviolent and complete challenges to level up and earn themed cosmetics. Highlights include the Cosmic Ring ECHO Device skin, the Pandora Sunset weapon trinket, and Framed Tenderizer room decoration.

In a lengthy blog post, Gearbox explained how seasonal events are now a permanent thing and can be accessed at any time from the main menu. Finally, the level cap has been increased by seven to 72. Even if PlayStation players are left marooned on Pandora and can't participate with their cross-play pals, at least the rest of the Borderlands' community can blast each other to pieces with the fan-favourite franchise.