Gamers rejoice as Sony allows cross-play

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BagoGames

As backlash from gamers grew in the past few months about Sony dismissing cross-play, they finally allowed it for “Fortnite.”

Shannon Sullivan

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 4 will finally be able to cross-play with other gaming platforms in third-party games such as “Fortnite.” It will allow gameplay between users of platforms such as the Xbox One, Mac, Android, IOS, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Sony is now beginning to follow the trend of cross-platform, which was started when other popular games such as “Rocket League” and “Minecraft” became available on both Xbox and mobile. The company faced mounting pressure to allow players to play across platforms and has lead to Epic Games enabling cross-play.

Prior to the announcement, Sony had maintained the idea that there was no need for players to connect with other platforms, but as games like Fortnite became available on a wide array of devices, Sony has relented to allow cross-play. Sony’s original argument against cross-play is that its users would have no need to use any other platform, reasoning that the PlayStation was the best.

The implication this could have for the gaming industry is a larger connection between consoles, and people will be able to play with nearly anyone in the future. The “console wars” can become a thing of the past, with games being available to players on a wider array of devices and the ability to connect with others regardless of the platform.   

Battle Royale and free-to-play games are typically the most cross-play friendly since they aren’t affiliated with a specific gaming company. The cross-play beta was made available at the same time “Fortnite” season six arrived, and improvements are still being made.