Thanks to its release for the Nintendo Switch, the indie sandbox adventure game Astroneer has received some renewed attention at the start of 2022, leaving many to wonder whether the game has cross-platform support or crossplay opportunities. Given that it's now available on four different consoles - the Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC - this has become increasingly relevant for those looking to play with friends. Here's everything there is to know about playing Astroneer with friends.
Astroneer can perhaps most closely be compared to the notorious space exploration game No Man's Sky, allowing players to venture across procedurally generated open-world planets, terraforming, collecting resources, and crafting more advanced materials or items. However, one notable difference is that Astroneer is arguably targeted towards a more casual player base, featuring faster progression and less of a set goal and storyline. Developed by System Era Softworks, it was first released for early access in late 2016, followed by a full release three years later in 2019 on Windows and Xbox One. The PlayStation 4 version of Astroneer came not long after, and most recently, Astroneer was ported to the Nintendo Switch on January 13.
Astroneer can support anywhere from one to four players. Much like other popular sandbox games, this multiplayer functionality involves running dedicated servers as one might do for Minecraft. PC players running Astroneer through Steam can find instructions for hosting their own game on the official Astroneer website. Servers can also be rented through the game's authorized providers and partners. Otherwise, they can be purchased across all four platforms. Players should be aware in advance that the process for setting up an individually-hosted server can be complicated, especially for those who might not have dabbled in setting up shared multiplayer servers before. In addition to the instructions listed on the official site, developers have answered a few other questions that players might have when looking to play with friends, including whether or not Astroneer's servers support crossplay between different consoles.
Xbox & PC Gamers Can Experience Astroneer's Multiplayer Crossplay
The Q&A segment on the Astroneer website helps make it clear which platforms can connect to which servers. PS4 players, for example, should be able to connect to any dedicated Astroneer server. On the other hand, Xbox players cannot link to a non-authenticated server such as one that's being run independently by a friend. That said, despite each console supporting multiplayer to varying extents, the experience is still fairly riddled with bugs that might make things less than ideal. Given that Astroneer has had technical issues and is still relatively new, plus the fact that a rather small studio is developing it, it's likely that bugs with the experience are still being worked out, and further improvements, potentially even additional crossplay functionality, will be added in the future.
For the time being, however, the short answer is no, Astroneer does not entirely support cross-platform multiplayer - with one exception. Xbox and PC consoles are the only two platforms that support Astroneer crossplay. Even the Nintendo Switch edition, the most recently-released version of the game, didn't add any such feature. This means that Switch players will only be able to play with other Switch players, PS4 players can't connect to Xbox servers, and so on. Players looking to join a server with friends on another console will have to switch to the same platform, with the exception of Windows and Xbox (and Game Pass) users. While this is disappointingly restrictive, the possibility remains that the developer will change that in the future. For now, at least Astroneer players can still experience solid multiplayer functionality within their own platform, and Xbox and PC players have opportunities to game together.
Source: Astroneer