Sony Calls for Fan Feedback in Fortnite Cross-Play Controversy

• Sony’s decision to prevent Fortnite cross-play anger fans of both the Switch and Xbox One.
• The company claims that it will invite and listen to fan feedback, though this isn’t a guarantee that they’ll change their stance.
• Both Nintendo and Microsoft allow Fortnite cross-play, which gives Sony’s major console rivals a key selling point if Sony doesn’t reverse its position.

People who own the popular online game Fortnite on the PlayStation 4 (PS4) have been up in arms recently after Sony prevented cross-play with the Switch version of the game. Those with accounts on the PS4 version found that they couldn’t use their details to log on to the Switch version.

After an uproar, it came to light that Sony has blocked developers Epic Games from allowing Fortnite cross-play for PS4 players across the other major consoles. As a result, players can’t share their purchases or progress made on a PS4 account to the Switch or Xbox One versions of the game.

Image Courtesy of Polygon.com

The uproar over this seems to have taken Sony by surprise. A couple of days after the news broke, the company released the following statement:

“We’re always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online. With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we’ve built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms.”

The mention of cross-play on Android, PC, and iOS platforms does little to quell the flames. If anything, it highlights that Sony prevented cross-play with the Switch and Xbox One to prevent its main competitors from getting a foothold in the PS4’s market.

However, the statement does suggest that Sony will pay close attention to what its community has to say about the issue. The company’s Twitter seems to provide a sample of what they’re likely to get back from their fans regarding the issue. It already contains plenty of responses that condemn the company for the move. Assuming that this makes up the bulk of the feedback, it’s likely that Sony will reverse its decision.

What makes matters worse for the company is that both Microsoft and Nintendo do allow cross-play between different consoles. This also isn’t the first instance of Sony preventing cross-play in popular games. They did the same with both Rocket League and Minecraft, again despite Microsoft and Nintendo allowing it.