Beat Saber adds cross-platform multiplayer

Beat Saber Quest (Image credit: Nick Sutrich / Android Central)

What you need to know

Oculus Quest and Quest 2 owners can now play Beat Saber with players on Steam VR.
Beat Saber joins a small group of games with cross-platform multiplayer.
PlayStation VR still doesn't have multiplayer, so it wasn't included in the update.

Beat Games has added cross-platform play to multiplayer in Beat Saber for Oculus and Steam VR players. This means that players on the Oculus Quest and Quest 2, as well as players on the Oculus Storefront, will be able to play Beat Saber's multiplayer mode with their friends.

🤝 Oculus & Steam crossplay is now possible! We just launched a crossplay feature for the Oculus and Steam players, so you can join multiplayer matches and slash the beats together. pic.twitter.com/3TvkSNFiC1🤝 Oculus & Steam crossplay is now possible! We just launched a crossplay feature for the Oculus and Steam players, so you can join multiplayer matches and slash the beats together. pic.twitter.com/3TvkSNFiC1— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) September 15, 2021 September 15, 2021

The announcement prompted backlash from PlayStation VR players since multiplayer still hasn't been added to Beat Saber on the platform. Originally announced nearly a year ago, PSVR players hadn't received an update on the mode until today. The official Beat Saber Twitter account issued a brief apology in a separate Tweet, promising multiplayer and crossplay were still on the way.

Dear PS VR players, we are still working on the Multiplayer feature for the PS VR to bring you the best multiplayer experience, so stay tuned. We're also exploring ways to allow crossplay for the PS VR.Dear PS VR players, we are still working on the Multiplayer feature for the PS VR to bring you the best multiplayer experience, so stay tuned. We're also exploring ways to allow crossplay for the PS VR.— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) September 15, 2021 September 15, 2021

While neither Beat Games nor the Beat Saber Twitter account has explicitly commented on the matter, Sony and PlayStation have been notoriously opposed to allowing cross-platform multiplayer in the past, which has likely had an effect on the development and addition of the mode. In the past, Sony's even gone as far as charging select developers who want to add crossplay to their games for including it.

While they've defended their choice as a means of protecting their players, internal documents unearthed during the Apple vs. Epic lawsuit suggest otherwise. The documents indicate that Sony was afraid that players were leaving the PlayStation platform if they knew they could play with their friends on any platform.