Computer software is described as multiplatform when it can be used on multiple kinds of computers or operating systems. See Platform (computing) for more information on this. An example of this is an web browser program such as Mozilla Firefox. This browser is available on various different Windows platforms and other operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS. Programs can use different approaches achieve multiplatform capability. One straightforward but costly approach is to create multiple versions of the program, where each is designed for a specific platform, but every version maintains largely the same functionality and appearance. Another approach depends on underlying, pre-existing software that hides the differences between the platforms, so that the program code needn't be aware of any of the platforms's characteristics. Programs written in Java use that approach, as they depend on the underlying Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to hide the platform specifics.

Multiplatform is also the term given to video games released on a range of consoles and handhelds. Examples include Legend and the FIFA series. They are both spread across a variety of platforms such as the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In some cases, depending on the hardware of a particular system it may take longer than expected to create a video game across multiple platforms. So, a video game may only get released on a few platforms and then later released on the remaining platforms. This usually occurs when a new system is released. The developer of a video game needs to get used to the hardware and will usually delay the release on the new platform. Other reasons could be the limitation of storage on the media used for the platform and different controls. As with the current generation console Grand Theft Auto series these games are released first on PlayStation 2 and then later to Xbox. Some companies (Sony in this case) may have an exclusive license to have an agreement with the developer of a video game to only have it released on that platform and then released later on competitor's platform.

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