After tireless campaigning to the point where Sony could barely make an update on social media without someone piping up about it, the gaming giant has today announced that the PS4 will begin supporting cross-platform play as part of an open beta.
The open beta will commence from as early as today with Fortnite as, effectively, the guinea pig. The game’s release on the Switch and the subsequent blocking of shared progression on Sony’s part was the catalyst for the backlash, so it’s fitting that it’s the game Sony try out cross-platform play with first.
“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.”
In the past, Sony have maintained that them blocking cross-platform play to other consoles was just a security thing, though many believed it was business-minded. After issuing a very poorly received statement following the Fortnite fiasco, it appears that Sony have finally relented in the face of constant pressure from fans to play ball.
“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.”
The guys at Xbox are clearly fans of this move:
🙌
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 26, 2018
It seems that this is a decision that Sony haven’t made lightly, but it’s probably for the best that they gave in. Nobody wants to be the Apple of gaming. Sony have not mentioned when this beta will close, so make the most of it while you can.
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