Have you recently gotten the latest Xbox Series X? If so, and you’re a gamer who plays with friends, you might be concerned about not being able to play with them anymore. Can players from Xbox Series X and Xbox One play together?
You can play games on Xbox Series X with players on Xbox One as long as the game you’re playing is compatible with both consoles. Most games originally released for the Xbox One will be compatible with Xbox Series X; however, the reverse is not true.
Let’s take a look at multiplayer gaming across the two consoles in more detail and discuss why some games may not support multiplayer. We’ll also take a look at video game compatibility across the two consoles and compare them side by side.
Playing Games in Multiplayer
If you’re playing a game on the Xbox series X, chances are you can play it in multiplayer with gamers currently on the Xbox One console. There isn’t really a technical aspect to it; all you have to do is launch the game and connect to multiplayer as you would normally.
Take Fortnite, for example – it’s one of the most popular battle royal games that also operates without a hitch on both consoles. Still, you might get a slight edge playing with the newer console!
You’ll be able to form a party and play with your friends without problem on most games. What games are the exception? Well, those would be games that cannot run on both platforms.
The games released exclusively for the Xbox series X won’t run on its predecessor, Xbox One. In that case, you’d only be able to play with other players on the Series X console. Additionally, whether or not cross-play across both platforms is allowed or not is up to the developers of the game.
Developers aren’t out to set a barrier to entry on their games. That would be harmful to them in terms of the overall player base. This right to restrict cross-play is more to keep things fair in competitive games.
If a multiplayer game runs well on the Series X (which, of course, it will – the Series X has the latest in hardware) but fails to perform equally as well on its predecessor due to the substantial gap in processing power between the two consoles, players on the Series X will have an unfair advantage.
In a competitive, skill-based game that’s supposed to be fair for all players – such as Fortnite or Apex Legends – having your opponent beat you simply because they were playing with a framerate twice as high as yours can be quite frustrating!
So far, most popular titles run just fine on the Xbox One, so this isn’t a problem as of right now. However, as games become increasingly resource-intensive with every update, this may yet be something gamers need to consider when it comes to the consoles they use.
Voice Chat
Let’s quickly talk about voice chat as well. After all, there’s not much point to playing with your friends at a party if you can’t talk to them, is there?
Fortunately, you can voice chat with other Xbox users irrespective of which of the two consoles they are on. The same voice chat servers are used for both consoles. If you’ve been experiencing issues in setting up a voice channel, it may be an issue related to your microphones, internet, or other components that are unrelated to compatibility. .
Game Compatibility Between Consoles
Let’s talk a little bit more about game compatibility between Xbox Series X and Xbox One. Firstly, the games released on Xbox One: these games can be played on both consoles. They can be played on Xbox Series X because of backward compatibility.
Backward compatibility doesn’t merely port the game to the latest console. When playing on the Series X, you’ll note an improvement in overall performance like smoother gameplay, faster loading times, and much better visual fidelity.
The games released on Xbox Series X, however, cannot be played on Xbox One. The difference in processing power is just too great. Let’s take a look at some numbers to get a better idea.
The Xbox Series X vs. Xbox One: Key Differences
What’s improved with the latest generation? Almost every component in the Xbox. The primary components to consider are the CPU, GPU, storage, memory, and graphical output capabilities.
| Xbox One | Xbox Series X | |
| CPU | 1.75ghz – 8 cores | 3.8ghz – 8 cores |
| GPU | 1.31 TFLOPS | 12 TFLOPS |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 | 16 GB DDR |
| Storage | 500 GB Hard Drive | 1 TB NVMe SSD |
As for graphical output, the Xbox One typically delivers 30 to 60 frames per second on 1080p.
On the other hand, the Xbox Series X can deliver 4K resolution video at a staggering 120 fps.
As you can see, the difference is tremendous. I’d like to point out the upgrade to an NVMe SSD, which may go underappreciated by those not informed of the benefits of such an upgrade. Apart from the bulkiest of installations, load times on the new console take mere seconds because of the new NVMe SSD.
So, should you upgrade or not? I would say it’s worth the investment if you absolutely love gaming and can get your hands on one for near MSRP. It’s the latest in technology and will remain future-proof for at least the majority of this decade.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like getting it at the MSRP price is realistic for many of us because of the limited market supply. Hopefully, we will see replenished stocks in the near future.
Until then, you can keep playing multiplayer with your teammates on your trusty Xbox One.
Related Content: Do Xbox Series X Controllers Work On Xbox One?
Final Thoughts
Xbox Series X can play most popular games with Xbox One owners in online multiplayer. However, some games, such as the Xbox Series X exclusive releases, may not be compatible with both consoles. These games can’t run on the older console, so cross-platform multiplayer is not an option.
All Xbox users can hop on voice chat with others regardless of which console they’re on because all voice channels are hosted on the same server.