Sony Finally Adding Cross-Platform Support

What on Earth took them this long? That’s the question most people had after hearing the announcement today from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO and President John Kodera that Sony will be providing cross-platform support starting today for Fortnite. The announcement, posted to Sony’s PlayStation Blog and posted in its entirety below, comes after Sony has taken a lot of heat for not only not allowing cross-platform support but for locking out Fortnite accounts that were used to login on PlayStation, meaning you couldn’t use the same Epic account on a different system.

They seem to have finally gotten with the program, at least a little. Today’s announcement is for a beta testing of cross-platform support for Fortnite but didn’t include how long the beta will run for. They also announced that it is a full policy change for PlayStation going forward but haven’t mentioned any other titles that they may look at offering support for. So, for now, we’re in a wait and see period for Sony cross-platform play.

Fortnite Heroes

This generation of the console war was all but dead and won for Sony but a controversy over something users want could have been enough to start moving people away from the PlayStation. This decision should help keep that from happening but will it be too little too late as we’re already looking ahead to the next generation of consoles? Time will tell. Are you excited for Sony’s decision today? What titles would you want to see cross-platform support for?

Statement from John Kodera from PlayStation.Blog:

“Following a comprehensive evaluation process, SIE has identified a path toward supporting cross-platform features for select third party content. We recognize 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.

The first step will be an open beta beginning today for Fortnite that will allow for cross platform gameplay, progression and commerce across PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Mac operating systems. We see the beta as an opportunity to conduct thorough testing that ensures cross-platform play is best on PlayStation, while being mindful about the user experience from both a technical and social perspective.

For 24 years, we have strived to deliver the best gaming experience to our fans by providing a uniquely PlayStation perspective. Today, the communities around some games have evolved to the point where cross-platform experiences add significant value to players. In recognition of this, 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.

This represents a major policy change for SIE, and we are now in the planning process across the organization to support this change. We will update the community once we have more details to share, including more specifics regarding the beta timeframe, and what this means for other titles going forward.

In the meantime, please stay tuned for more information via PlayStation.Blog and social channels, including TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.”

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