Sony brings Fortnite crossplay Beta on PlayStation 4

Sony recently announced that they are now going to allow the gamers on PlayStation 4 to go up against the gamers from rival consoles- Xbox and Nintendo Switch, in the Fortnite crossplay Beta.

Although in the past, many games allowed cross-play between those using a PC, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch, Sony never took to the trend, child protection being one of the main reasons for not taking part in such updates previously.

Nevertheless, Sony went ahead and quoted to have “identified a path” to add cross-play as a feature in some games, the first of them being Fortnite. But after blocking PlayStation gamers access on using the same account they used for PS4 on the new Nintendo Switch version of Fortnite, Sony was severely criticized.

Players on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch could go online and play against each other, but when it came to PS4 gamers, the users found that they couldn’t even use the same account they had for PS4 on the other consoles.

At the same time, Sony claimed to be “open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience”.

John Kodera, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, made an announcement on Wednesday

“We recognise that PS4 players have been eagerly awaiting an update, and we appreciate the community’s continued patience as we have navigated through this issue to find a solution.”

He even claimed,

“We have completed a thorough analysis of the business mechanics required to ensure that the PlayStation experience for our users remains intact today, and in the future, as we look to open up the platform.”

Fortnite PS4 is the first game to allow complete cross-play against Xbox and Nintendo Switch, that means, players can not only play against players from other consoles, they can also login to other consoles using their Fortnite PS4 account and use any item that they might have bought on any of the supported consoles.

Very pleased Sony buckled and started playing ball – their stance on cross-play was stupid, and it was inevitable they'd change their tune under sustained pressure.

It's good to have some pro-consumer gaming news, for once.

— Ryan Brown #SweGameConf (@Toadsanime) September 26, 2018

Tom Phillips, News Editor at Eurogamer, supported this major move by Sony and said “knocking down the wall blocking off PS4 from cross-play with rival consoles”.

He went on to say,

“It’s a historic moment not just for PlayStation, but for all of gaming – as all console owners will now be able to play together for the first time.”