Terraria devs want 2023 to be 'the year of Terraria crossplay'
If there's one feature above all else that Terraria players have wanted for years, it's crossplay between the PC, consoles, and mobile versions of the game. According to a new "state of the game" post on Terraria's Steam page, that dream is creeping ever closer, though developer Re-Logic is still stopping short of guaranteeing it'll happen.
"2023 is going to be quite the year for Terraria, based on what is in our plans. Hopefully, it will go down as the year of Terraria Crossplay, amongst other things," Re-Logic writes.
The post gets a bit more specific about crossplay later on, adding that the dev team behind the console and mobile ports of Terraria "have started off the new year by working to upgrade the core engine and software library versions in preparation for the release of crossplay."
Crossplay development is actively happening, then, but take this caveat to heart: Re-Logic's being cautious about making an official announcement. On Twitter, Re-Logic producer Whitney Spinks said that "Cross-play is not guaranteed but we really want to make it happen!"
Re-Logic's business head Ted Murphy added "Definitely going to give it our best shot—the plan is solid!"
Enabling crossplay in Terraria will require a multiplayer system that can interface with the network services of Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android—likely not a simple task for a game that's been growing and changing since its first release in 2011. But it's definitely doable—in fact, there's already a mod for Terraria servers that enables crossplay "by modifying incoming packets sent from the client (and outgoing packets sent from the server) to match whatever game version the packets are being sent to."
Re-Logic's implementation will presumably be different—and make it possible for console players to play with each other without the help of a PC friend hosting a modded server. But if you are a PC player with an itch to run your own Terraria server, there's a path to crossplay already.
In an interview with PC Gamer last August, Murphy called crossplay "an exciting hill to climb to be sure, but one we are eager to attempt." We'll see if Re-Logic makes it to the summit this year.