Humankind cross-play: Is there cross-platform support?

Humankind is a historical strategy game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by SEGA. It is available on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store and is a day-one title for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Humankind is also available on Google's Stadia, and players are tasked with re-writing the entire narrative of human history. That's no small feat, and playing with others (or against) might just make it even better. 

With Humankind released on 17th August 2021, players are starting to jump into this grand strategy title, and some are wondering if Humankind has cross-play between the game's different platforms.

There's good news, and bad news for those who want to know about Humankind cross-play support, depending on which platform you or your friends are playing on, so let's dive in.

Does Humankind have cross-play support?

Let's get right to it, Humankind has cross-play support for two to eight players in a multiplayer match. There is a caveat, however, as this is only between those who play the game on the Microsoft Store (get for free via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) and those playing the game on Steam.

Unfortunately, there has been some confusion about cross-play support and which platforms are actually supported.

As mentioned at the start of this article, the game is on PC and Google's Stadia. While cross-play for Humankind is enabled on PC, those playing the game from Google's Stadia won't be able to play with those on Steam and Microsoft Store.

The developers revealed as much in a tweet answering a fan question, which you can view below.

Hey! The Stadia version of the game will not support crossplay. However, there will be crossplay between the other available platforms.

— Humankind (@humankindgame) August 14, 2021

At the time of writing, there's no indication if cross-play for Humankind's Stadia players will ever be enabled but we do hope this answers players' questions.

The confusion came in due to the game's Stadia page still does list cross-platform support for two to eight players in multiplayer, as pointed out by a fan on the same Twitter thread.

So there you have it, Humankind does in fact have cross-play between PC and those who play the game via Game Pass in the Microsoft Store.

Unfortunately, those on Google's Stadia will have to play with others on the game streaming service.

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Header image via Microsoft / Amplitude Studios.