With the recent launch of the 5v5 soccer game, Rematch, developer Sloclap has taken a moment to address its community regarding the absence of crossplay at the game’s debut. In a candid message, the studio acknowledged the oversight in communication and expressed its commitment to rectifying the situation.
Developer’s Commitment to Crossplay
Initially, Sloclap had indicated that crossplay would be a feature at launch. On March 3, a developer known as nobugz communicated on the Rematch Discord, stating, “we’re doing our best efforts to have cross platform Day 1 but I can’t confirm it yet unfortunately. If we don’t manage it at launch, it will be made available in an update very soon after.” However, it wasn’t until June 16, just before the game’s advance access period, that the studio confirmed crossplay would not be available at launch, leaving many fans surprised and disappointed.
In a follow-up statement shortly after Rematch went live, Sloclap expressed, “We did our utmost to include crossplay at launch, but Rematch is the studio’s first crossplay title, and we faced unforeseen technical complexities which prevented us from having this feature ready in time. We should have communicated as soon as it became apparent that crossplay wouldn’t be available at launch, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience and frustration it caused to some of our players.”
The studio emphasized that enabling crossplay is a top priority, alongside addressing various performance issues reported by players. Sloclap reassured fans that they are committed to delivering this feature swiftly, stating, “We already have a basic working version from a technical standpoint, but we need to implement the relevant interfaces, before debugging and polishing it, and finally passing console certifications successfully—all this takes time but we are doing our best to move forward quickly.”
Addressing Performance Issues
Before diving into the enhancements for gameplay mechanics and features, Sloclap is focusing on resolving reports of performance issues, including lag, stuttering, frame drops, server and client desync problems, as well as crashes and menu locks. The studio has made it clear that these issues are their “highest priority.”
In addition to crossplay, future updates will aim to improve gameplay mechanics, introduce tournament support, establish leaderboards for players above the Elite ranking, and facilitate club creation. New quickplay game modes and AI-controlled bots for training purposes are also on the horizon.
While a specific timeline for these updates has not been disclosed, Sloclap cautioned players not to expect all improvements by the end of the year. They promised to provide a more detailed roadmap for upcoming seasons once they gain better visibility on delivery timelines.
Despite the initial setback regarding crossplay, the game’s launch has seen a robust reception. On its first day, Rematch recorded a concurrent player count nearing 93,000 on Steam. While it may not hit the 100,000 mark immediately, the numbers suggest a promising start, with expectations that the player count will surge as the weekend approaches.
