Late last year, NetherRealm Studios launched a beta for crossplay in Mortal Kombat 11 that was limited to battles between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners. The idea was that this more limited pool would help the developer test out the feature so it could roll it out to other platforms in the future. Sadly, it looks like those other platforms were never meant to be PC and Switch.
In an update on the official Mortal Kombat Twitter account yesterday, NetherRealm confirmed that crossplay would be coming to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X updates to Mortal Kombat 11, but not PC or Switch. There's no explanation for why, but it seems NetherRealm wants to keep things to the most popular platforms so as not to divert its staff too much.
On the one hand, I can understand this decision. Likely the install base for players on PC and Switch isn't even close to matching the numbers on Sony and Microsoft's platforms. On the other hand, this is locking out potential customers from getting the full experience with their friends. It's especially strange when a game like Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid supports crossplay between all consoles and Stadia.
NetherRealm may yet introduce crossplay to other versions of Mortal Kombat 11, but it certainly isn't happening in 2020. Considering the studio has a history of crunch, I don't want them to push for its inclusion this year. The company should take its time figuring out how to properly implement this in a way that won't overwork its employees. Maybe that means it never shows up, but that is better than harming your staff.
Source: Twitter