Accidental crossplay between Star Wars: Jedi Academy on PC and console is a slaughter

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Aspyr says it's working to fix the bug that's enabling veteran PC players to invade games on PS4 and Switch.

(Image credit: LucasArts)

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy first released in 2003, and its innovative and still-unique lightsaber dueling mechanics garnered a fanatical group of players that have kept up the game for nearly 17 years. Just this week developer Aspyr Media re-released Jedi Academy on PS4 and Nintendo Switch with updated controls for modern consoles, and it seems like the appeal is still strong—plus, the general multiplayer modes are fully functional. It does nearly everything the old PC game does. 

It also does these things perhaps too well, including apparently accidental crossplay between PC and console, because by direct-connecting to the IP of the unlisted console multiplayer servers PC players are able to join those games. Some of those players just want to hang out with new blood in an old game. Others are fighting as unfairly as they can. The contrast between keyboard-and-mouse advantage, plus more than a decade of gameplay knowhow, against how Jedi Academy controls on consoles is not pretty. It is, in fact, kind of a slaughter. Here's a pretty mild example: 

Some console players are understandably furious, asking for the IPs of console servers to be hidden. Other PC players are decrying the toxic players invading console servers, instead trying to welcome new players into the JKA community. Responses to Aspyr's latest tweet is a good example of the kind of social media turmoil going on around the game right now. 

Update: Aspyr said in an emailed statement that it is aware of the problem and working to fix it.

"We’re absolutely thrilled and appreciative of the support that our fan community has given last week’s launch of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy on PS4 and Nintendo Switch," a rep said. "We are aware of the current bug that allows multiplayer cross play between PC and console. As with every game we work on, we are fully committed to delivering great gaming experiences for players, which includes a fair playing field for all. A remedy for this loophole is now in the works and will be available soon."

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is available on PC via Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Origin, and probably lots of other places too.

Correction: The original version of this story implied PC players on console servers were cheating rather than simply having access to features, such as chat and team health, not included in the console reissue of Jedi Academy. This has been corrected.

Jonathan Bolding
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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.