Tetris Effect: Connected will become a free upgrade, get crossplay

When Tetris Effect: Connected, the multiplayer upgrade to Tetris Effect, launched last November, it was only available to new adopters—you either had to purchase a new copy of Tetris Effect or download the game via Game Pass. This summer Tetris Effect: Connected will finally turn into a free upgrade for all players regardless of platform. Furthermore, it will also launch on Steam in late July.

Tetris Effect: Connected is also getting crossplay—players could sign up for a closed crossplay beta that's running until July 5 and includes all platforms including Oculus Rift. Together with crossplay, a few new features will be added, such as a Spectator Mode. In this mode, which is apparently the "no. 1 requested feature by the Tetris Effect community" between 4 and 6 spectators can join to watch a match. This is a nice addition, particularly since it's still difficult to have friends over to watch a couch co-op match. Other features include a PAL speed, a setting aimed at replicating the framerate and movement of Tetris on the NES, and a slow speed setting.

Making Tetris Effect: Connected available to all players is a great idea—the vibrant competitive Tetris scene has already proven what a great multiplayer game it is, and Switch owners have  had their own multiplayer Tetris with Tetris 99. Beyond that, Tetris Effect is just a very good game—it managed to turn me into a fan with its PC release, and I still play it most days.