Genshin Impact PS5 PlayStation 5 1

For the most part, the chatter about PlayStation’s resistance to crossplay has gone cold. You may recall, Sony held out on the functionality for a short period, but it’s since become fairly commonplace across a number of key franchises – including the company’s own MLB The Show 21. There was a fresh spike of criticism which emerged from Epic Games’ court case with Apple, although this seemed to relate to the platform holder requesting royalties if there was an unorthodox ratio between the amount of time someone was playing on PlayStation compared to where they were spending their money.

However, a new Genshin Impact update has fans frustrated – although it’s not entirely clear who’s to blame. While the game has full cross-progression, players are forced to buy the title’s Battle Pass on PlayStation if they created their account on Sony’s system. This isn’t a huge deal in isolation, but the severity of the situation has been worsened because with the new version of the game it’s impossible to claim Battle Pass rewards on any platform other than the PS5 and PS4.

So this means if you make progress in the Battle Pass on another system, like the PC, it’ll be reflected in-game but you’ll have to turn on your PlayStation in order to claim any rewards. Those items will then be attributed to your account, and you’ll be able to use them on PC, but it adds a seemingly unnecessary step to the situation. It’s worth mentioning that crossplay games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone don’t have the same issue.

Nevertheless, some think, given Sony’s shaky history with crossplay, that it’s enforcing the rule – but we’re not sure why it would specifically make this stipulation, other than to force engagement with its own platform. There’s certainly no financial gain to be made from doing this, as it’s already requiring players to buy the Battle Pass through the PS Store anyway. As such, we’re leaning more towards this being a mix-up on developer miHoYo’s end.

Either way, hopefully it’s resolved promptly.

[source twitter.com]