For obvious reasons, Sony didn’t want to share players with other platforms, but following the negative response to this stance regarding Fortnite access, there’s been a change of heart. Fortnite players will be the first to benefit from that.
Sony is not a company eager to work with other, competing platforms. That’s why we haven’t seen cross-play offered on PS4 for games that also appear on the Xbox One and Switch. But the company has had a change of heart, and it seems to be Fortnite players that have triggered the change.
Fortnite is available to play across all major platforms including PC, Mac, Xbox One, Switch, and mobile devices. It’s also available on PS4, but Sony did not allow cross-pay with the other consoles. What that meant was, anyone playing on PS4 couldn’t access any items or progress within the game achieved on the Xbox One or Switch, for example.
Fortnite players were understandably upset and they made sure Sony knew about it. This triggered Sony to carry out a «comprehensive evaluation process,» with the inevitable conclusion being a decision to support cross-play and stop upsetting gamers who chose to purchase a PS4 in the first place.
Posting on the PlayStation. Blog, John Kodera, president and global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, explained that cross-platform features would be embraced for «select third party content.» To begin with, that means Fortnite which will have an open beta starting today supporting cross-play. Anyone playing Fortnite on Android, iOS, Switch, Xbox One, Windows, or Mac, can access their progression on PS4 and vice-versa.
The open beta is simply to test cross-play works, and works well. Kodera does acknowledge this is something that could have been done sooner when he says, «We recognize that PS4 players have been eagerly awaiting an update, and we appreciate the community’s continued patience.»
The important thing for gamers and PS4 owners is, it’s happening finally and will spread to support other titles Sony sees as worthwhile. I think that translates to whether a game is popular enough to bother doing the required work.
