PlayStation 4 To Finally Get Cross-Play With Nintendo Switch And Xbox

After what felt like an eternity of radio silence, Sony has finally opened up about cross-play on the PS4. Following months of backlash and majority of the gaming industry, Sony will finally be allowing cross-play between the PS4 and other gaming systems. In what has to be a case of the best timing ever, PlayStation owners will notice the new functionality first on Fortnite. You’ll now be able to blast and build your way to a victory royale with your friends on the Switch, Xbox, PC, Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac OS’s. 

In a statement posted to the Official PlayStation Blog, President and Global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, John Kodera had this to say:

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.

It looks like things are about to get really interesting within the gaming community. Fortnite is an excellent start, but I’m curious to see where else this leads. Either way, this is a really big step for Sony, and could potentially open the gate for them to take an even bigger lead in console sales.