Split Fiction will include crossplay for the first time across all platforms – PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Windows, Steam, Epic) – via the Friend’s Pass function.
This means Hazelight’s forthcoming co-op adventure will be playable by two players online across any platform with only one copy of the game required.
It Takes Two similarly included the Friend’s Pass function, but players had to be on the same platform. Now, that’s changed for Split Fiction.
As long as you own a copy of the game, you can invite any friend on any platform to join you online for free. The catch is that you both need EA accounts linked to your platform account in order to be friends.
Friend’s Pass can also be used with “as many different friends as you want, one friend at a time”, reads the FAQ, essentially meaning it’s not a one time use code so as long as you own a copy of the game, you can share the experience with an infinite number of friends. The host player will also determine the starting point, meaning they can invite a different friend to continue playing (or restart the game).
A demo version of the game will also be playable for free across platforms using Friend’s Pass, or in local couch co-op. It includes the first few levels of the game.
And, of course, the game will be fully playable offline in local co-op without using Friend’s Pass.
Further, all progress made while playing using Friend’s Pass will be carried over into the full game, whether you’re the player joining someone else’s game via the function, or you’re playing the demo version.
However, Trophies and Achievements will only be unlocked by players that have purchased the full game – that would be the host only, and not the player joining for free.
Split Fiction is set for release on 6th March – it’s a co-op only game about two authors whose sci-fi and fantasy worlds collide. It follows It Takes Two, which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021 among other accolades.
“What developer Hazelight has essentially done here is build on everything it’s done so well with its previous co-op games A Way Out and It Takes Two, and dialled up its ambitions even further,” reads our hands-on preview of Split Fiction from Victoria.
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