While the technology isn’t brand new, crossplay has seen an uptake in popularity over the past few years. Gone are the days where gamers who want to play online are bound to the same platforms – cloud gaming means that you can go head to head or co-op with friends on your preferred set up.
This is an increasingly appealing concept given how far the development of smartphone tech has come. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are mobile gaming powerhouses that can handle graphic-intensive games far better than handsets from just a few years ago.
To test just how enjoyable crossplay gaming can be from a phone, we challenged two gaming presenters, @getfrankgames and @leven2k, to go head to head in a crossplay racing tournament. One on the S25 Ultra, the other on a PC.
So, who will be the crossplay champion? Watch below to find out.
The post-race verdict
Spoiler alert, if you haven’t watched the video, but @leven2k came out on top. But was Leven’s win down to the device he was playing on?
It seems neither Frankie, nor Leven, would say so. Of course, Leven reassures us it’s down to his skill level. And, despite winning one out of the three races, Frankie was impressed by the capabilities of the S25 Ultra.
“The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor is custom-made for the phone and it means everything plays super smoothly. The graphics are so high-fidelity, it kind of blew my mind a little bit.”
Frankie
The Qualcomm chip in the phone offers high frame rates for games that require a lot of CPU power. This is partly due to the AI-enhanced optimisation, which directs processing power away from background actions so the S25 Ultra can provide as smooth a gaming experience as possible.
“When you’re cloud gaming there are different problems you can encounter – it’s not the smoothest of experiences. But it didn’t seem like [Frankie] had any problems.”
Leven2k
Leven is right, cloud gaming can result in some dropped frames at times – especially if your internet connection isn’t the best. But that’s no fault of the phone. The S25 Ultra's 120 Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X display means that visuals are as crisp and movement is smooth when your WiFi can handle the crossplay.
Plus, when you’re gaming directly on the phone, rather than crossplay, the processor delivers an experience that you would be surprised a mobile handset could be capable of. You can also play any games in your Steam library via the dedicated app, which means you can enjoy many of your favourite titles single player when you’re on the go.
All in all, the verdict on gaming on the S25 Ultra was highly positive from our gaming aficionados. While solo gaming is known to be a joy on the phone, crossplay gaming was a success, too – despite Frankie not managing to nab the win.
Crossplay is certainly a gaming medium that has an exciting future. Being able to play with friends at home on PCs and consoles while you’re anywhere with a decent 5G signal makes gaming far more accessible. And when you’re playing on the S25 Ultra, the experience is taken to a whole new level.
Visit the Samsung website to find out more about the power under the hood of the S25 Ultra.
