Rematch is the next exciting sports title to hit the virtual shelves, and while many players are gearing up to start learning the new soccer experience, there’s a cloud of controversy over the game. During the alpha tests of Rematch, crossplay was not enabled, which fans thought was simply a result of the game not being fully ready for its official release. The overwhelming thought was that developer Sloclap was going to add crossplay for the full launch, which has come and gone. Crossplay is still not available.
The developers announced this disappointing news one day after the early access release date launched in Rematch, as players who pre-ordered the more expensive editions noticed they couldn’t party up with their friends on other platforms. With crossplay being such a popular feature in the video game industry today, fans are curious why this decision was made and if crossplay is even arriving in Rematch at all.
Rematch’s Early Success is Clouded Without Crossplay
By all accounts, Rematch looks like a hit. On Steam, it has over 3,000 reviews with a “Mostly Positive” rating, and players are raving about the in-depth mechanics and addictiveness of the gameplay. The sports game community can often be difficult to please, but Sloclap has designed a worthy competitor to the likes of Rocket League and EA FC, finding a way to mix the two games into a unique soccer cocktail.
However, after the developers made the announcement that Rematch wouldn’t have crossplay at launch, the positive sentiment around the game began to grow more negative. In today’s day and age, crossplay isn’t just a nice feature to have anymore; it’s an expected one that multiplayer games need in order to thrive and survive. Players need the ability to play with their friends who are on a different platform, and when that ability is absent, players either don’t buy the game in the first place or leave it behind.
If we go beyond multiplayer games, it’s difficult to find a sports game that doesn’t offer any sort of crossplay. EA FC, Rocket League, Madden, 2K, NHL, and plenty of other sports games with a multiplayer component all offer crossplay in one form or another. So, for Rematch to launch without the feature, it really dampens the early success the game is having.
Rematch Needs Crossplay More than Other Sports Games
If we want to dive deeper into why Rematch needs crossplay to succeed, all we need to do is look at its core gameplay. The game is designed with 5v5 matches in mind, meaning you’re paired up with four other teammates at a single time.
Without crossplay available, some players will have to continually play with four random strangers every time they want to play a core match. While other players might be lucky enough to have friends who share their platform, others aren’t so lucky, and their experience could easily be tarnished by not having any familiarity with their teammates.
Games such as Rocket League and EA FC usually only require one to two other players in a party to make matches work. If Rematch were solely a 3v3 experience, the lack of crossplay would still hurt, but it wouldn’t be nearly as detrimental to the core gameplay experience. The more random teammates you’re forced to have on your team, the more difficult it can be to succeed and win matches.
When Can We Expect Crossplay To Arrive In Rematch?
Fortunately, crossplay isn’t a feature that the developers at Sloclap are leaving behind entirely. In their announcement tweet, Sloclap stated that adding crossplay to Rematch is one of the top priorities for the studio.
Crossplay between Steam, PlayStation & Xbox won't be available at launch, but it's one of our top priorities for upcoming updates!
— Rematch (@PlayRematch) June 16, 2025
We'll share an ETA as soon as possible, stay tuned! #Rematch
While the addition of crossplay is a top priority, Sloclap offered no timetable for when the addition could arrive in Rematch. All we know is that an “upcoming update” will feature crossplay. The tweet is worded vaguely on purpose, as it seems the developers aren’t exactly sure when they’ll have the feature up and running.
Hopefully, the ETA of crossplay is within the next month or so, as Rematch needs to sustain as much momentum as possible if it wants to succeed in the sports game genre. The longer the game goes without crossplay, the higher the chance that players leave because they aren’t able to play with certain friends on other platforms.
If you’re playing Rematch, then make sure you check out our tips and tricks for succeeding on the pitch.
