Sony Talks PS4 Cross-Play Situation, Offers Some Hope

Following the recent release of Fortnite on Nintendo Switch, Sony's hardline stance on cross-play has once again become a point of contention. The publisher has come under fire for effectively blocking players from using Fortnite accounts linked to PS4 on other platforms, but a recent statement by the company offers a bit of hope that it may reverse course.

During a Gamelab conference in Spain, Sony Interactive America president and CEO Shawn Layden held a presentation on PlayStation's legacy. Following the presentation, Eurogamer asked Layden about Sony's controversial cross-play policy and whether the company would be open to allowing it in the future.

"We're hearing it," said Layden. "We're looking at a lot of the possibilities. You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game. I'm confident we'll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business."

While certainly not an outright confirmation that Sony will start to allow cross-play between PS4 and other platforms, it is more promising than the tepid response the company gave earlier this month, shortly after Fortnite launched on Switch. Sony hasn't discussed why it has been so hesitant to allow cross-play, but former Sony developer John Smedley says the reason ultimately boils down to money.

"[W]hen I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money. They didn't like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a Playstation. simple as that. [D]umb reason, but there it is," Smedley said on Twitter.

Fortnite isn't the only game affected by Sony's policy. The PS4 versions of Rocket League and Minecraft don't allow cross-play with other platforms either, although the Xbox One and Switch versions do. Nintendo and Microsoft have capitalized on the controversy by releasing a joint ad that touts the cross-play feature in Minecraft.