Cross-buy


Cross-buy is a feature of some digital distribution systems available across multiple device platforms, where users who purchase a license to a specific piece of software are able to use the versions of the software for different device classes at no additional charge.
The term is associated mainly with Digital distribution in video games, where cross-buy can span between a video game console and handheld game console, or between a console and a personal computer.

Examples

introduced cross-buy on PlayStation gaming platforms in August 2012: users who purchased certain PlayStation 3 titles would be able to obtain ports for the portable PlayStation Vita console at no additional charge. The initiative was later extended to include PlayStation 4.
Microsoft unveiled the similar scheme Xbox Play Anywhere in 2016, which is applicable to digital purchases of games on Microsoft Store across Windows 10 and Xbox One attached to the same account. This also includes synchronization of content such as saves and achievements between both platforms. This arrangement is primarily used on first-party titles, but Resident Evil 7 became the first third-party title to support cross-buys.