‘It’s nice to have options’: Blizzard thinks Avowed’s new cross-buy feature is breaking down barriers

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I can hardly contain my excitement! In just a week, on February 18, 2025, the full version of Avowed will be unleashed, and I can barely wait! As we gear up for this grand event, Blizzard has shared some tantalizing tidbits about Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming masterpiece. The best part? We’ll have the freedom to seamlessly switch between playing Avowed on our trusty PCs and our Xbox consoles, making it a truly cross-platform gaming experience!

The title of a new Blizzard blog post asserts that “Avowed Eliminates Barriers Using Cross-Buy”: In simpler terms, when you purchase any version of Avowed on either Battle.net or Xbox, you’ll have the ability to play the game across both platforms by connecting your Xbox and Battle.net accounts, effectively providing more ways to enjoy the game in various locations with just one purchase.

Playing a purchased video game across multiple platforms might seem ordinary, but it’s actually quite unusual in the gaming world. For instance, games such as Overwatch 2 allow players to unite different accounts from various consoles, but they must designate one as the primary account and cannot switch afterwards. Games like Call of Duty can be played on Battle.net, but Avowed is the first game outside of Activision Blizzard that can be played via Battle.net since Microsoft acquired its publisher – marking a new trend in cross-platform play.

While this news is exciting for individuals who own both an Xbox and a PC, some gamers argue that it doesn’t represent the revolutionary leap that Microsoft seems to suggest. One player puts it this way: “If I can play my Steam game on Xbox, then we can discuss shattering boundaries.” Another player notes that this move is not as difficult for Microsoft since they control their own storefronts: “PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam do not have a presence on the other platforms. Microsoft can do this because they’re sticking to their own storefronts. It’s not cross-buy with Steam. Similarly, the other platforms might also stand to lose a portion of their profits if they allowed it to be available on their platforms as well.

In 2016, Microsoft launched the Play Anywhere initiative, a move aimed at strengthening their focus on PC gaming. This feature enables users to purchase a game once and play it across either a PC or console. The benefits include seamless transfer of save files, downloadable content, and achievements between platforms. However, there was a caveat for PC gamers: Instead of buying games through Steam, they were required to use the Microsoft Store, which is notorious for issues due to its UWP framework.

As a fan, I’m relieved to say that now, instead of being limited to the Microsoft Store, players like myself have the convenience of also utilizing Battle.net. Frankly, I find it far more intuitive and pleasant to use compared to the former. Admittedly, the cross-buy feature for Avowed isn’t exactly revolutionary, and it doesn’t appear to dismantle any substantial hurdles.

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2025-02-12 15:32