Is Risk Of Rain 2 Cross-Platform/Cross-Play? [Explained]

“Is Risk of Rain 2 cross-platform”? is probably a thought that cropped up while you were slaying monsters and bosses in this third-person shooter roguelike game.

Since ROR 2 features multiplayer mode (co-op support with up to four players) along with solo mode, it is completely natural to expect cross-platform functionality. Risk of Rain 2 is the sequel to the extremely popular 2013 title of the same name and was developed by Hopoo Games and published by Gearbox Publishing in 2019.

It is available across multiple gaming platforms, including PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. It is also playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, albeit with some likely functionality issues.

Is Risk Of Rain 2 Cross-Platform In 2023?

Considering the availability of ROR 2 across so many platforms, players might be curious about its cross-platform compatibility that will allow them to enjoy this game in online multiplayer mode with their friends who’re on other platforms. Unfortunately, Risk of Rain 2 is not cross-platform compatible but this may change in the future.

Is Risk Of Rain 2 Crossplay Between:

#Xbox One And Nintendo Switch

Although it would be great fun to kill those pesky aliens and bosses with friends by your side, Risk of Rain 2 currently does not allow cross-platform gaming between Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The only way to play with your friends is if all of you are able to get your hands on an Xbox One console as well as the Xbox version of this game or vice versa.

#Mobile And PC

If you’re asking about Risk of Rain 2 cross-play compatibility between mobile and PC, the answer is again in the negative.

Also see: Is Rogue Company Crossplay/Cross-Platform In 2023? [Explained]

Many game developers are beginning to understand the importance of making their game cross-platform compatible so that players across different platforms can play together.

While some have fulfilled this requirement on game launch or included them in future updates, others have not done so due to potential technical issues or in the interest of preserving game integrity.

#PC And PS4/PS5

One feature of this roguelike game is that you have to survive till the end. Death at any level means that you have to start from the beginning without any previously acquired items or equipment.

This intimidating feature can be made more bearable by using multiplayer mode, which allows you to skip entire levels and respawn in the next level that your surviving friends have progressed to.

However, you might have to wait for some time if your friends are accessing ROR 2 on their PCs and you are playing it on PS4/PS5 or vice versa since Risk of Rain 2 does not support cross-play across these devices.

#PS4 And PS5

For now, Risk of Rain 2 does not need cross-play support between these consoles because the game is available as a PS4 version only and is cross-gen compatible.

So you can go around shooting aliens and exploring hidden portals with friends who have either the PS4 or the PS5 since everyone will basically be playing the PS4 edition of ROR2.

Will Cross-Platform ROR2 Ever Be Possible?

Currently, the game developers have not shared any news or timelines regarding whether they will make ROR2 cross-platform. The response by the game developers (or lack thereof) is completely understandable since it is one of the hardest online functionalities involved in digital game distribution.

There could be a number of reasons for not introducing this feature, such as the unavailability of resources for implementing cross-platform functionality, jarring inconsistencies that may occur across platforms during online multiplayer gameplay, and difficulty in providing cross-platform support in older version devices.

What Are Roguelike Games?

The term “roguelike” is derived from the 1980s game called “Rogue”. It is used as an umbrella term to collectively describe games incorporating a similar style of gameplay, which has been inspired from Dungeons & Dragons and Colossal Cave Adventure.

In most of these role-play games, you control a game character whose goal is to collect items, food, potions and more, and progress through the numerous levels by defeating monsters and bosses.

"Allow me to play you the song of my people."

The Polylute is a void item added in the Survivors of the Void expansion.

A corrupted version of the Ukulele, this peculiar instrument grants a 25% chance to send powerful void energy into an enemy while attacking. 🎸 pic.twitter.com/xA1VeAK6gO

— Risk of Rain (@RiskofRain) June 29, 2022

The difficulty in the levels increase as you progress through the game, which makes it cumbersome for you to level up unless you have upgraded your character with various items, boosts, armor, and so on.

Roguelike games are mostly turn-based and not heavily story-driven. This means that the game reacts only when you make your character perform an action. Furthermore, the gameplay involves procedurally generated levels and monsters; so you’re confronted with randomized variations each time you go back to the same levels.

What Is The Game About?

Risk of Rain 2 is the successor of one of the most widely popular rogue-like games of the same name. While the first installment of the game was in 2D, Hopoo Game published its sequel in 3D.

In ROR2, you control a survivor who has crash-landed on an alien planet. You start by choosing between two characters, Commando and Huntress, while the remaining 12 Risk of Rain 2 characters like Acrid can be unlocked as you progress through the game.

Your goal in this game is to defeat the final boss and escape the planet by completing the incrementally difficult levels, all the while collecting and combining loot and mastering the game characters for the purpose of defeating a variety of alien monsters and bosses.

Wrapping Up

There are a multitude of gaming devices available in the market, and the ever-growing global gaming community expects cross-platform as well as cross-generational support in newly published games.

The lack of cross-play compatibility keeps apart players of the same game who are using different platforms, possibly reducing the user base and daily active users.

While one can hope that the game developers might make ROR2 a cross-platform game in the latest PC release, Nintendo Switch update version, Xbox series update, and in other devices, cross-play between multiple platforms is currently not available for it.

In parting, multiplayer mode can be used to play Risk of Rain 2 only between players using the same hardware.