Skip to main content

Sony ‘confident’ it’ll find a Fortnite cross-play solution

Sony ‘confident’ it’ll find a Fortnite cross-play solution

Share this story

Sony appears to have listened to some of the feedback over its controversial decision to block cross-play on Fortnite. The company’s initial weak response did very little to calm angry fans that can’t use a Fortnite account that’s been used on the PS4 with the Nintendo Switch. Despite that, Sony has clearly been listening to the feedback. In an interview with Eurogamer, Shawn Layden, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, offers up some hope to fans:

”We’re hearing it. We’re looking at a lot of the possibilities. You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game. I’m confident we’ll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business.”

Sony’s official Twitter accounts for the company and PlayStation brand continue to be bombarded by fans angry over the company’s stance on cross-play. Sony has also previously blocked cross-play between PS4 and Xbox One for FortniteRocket League, and Minecraft, despite Nintendo and Microsoft supporting it. Microsoft and Nintendo even recently teamed up to promote cross-play in Minecraft with an unusual commercial, placing further pressure on Sony.

Microsoft and Nintendo team up for cross-play
Microsoft and Nintendo team up for cross-play

Fortnite fans using a Nintendo Switch are understandably angry with Sony’s stance, particularly as it blocks the sync of items and progression between the PS4 and Nintendo Switch. There are no technical restrictions to accessing an account across PC, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and the mobile iOS version.

It’s not clear exactly why Sony is blocking cross-play, but one former Sony developer claims the company didn’t used to like the idea of gamers purchasing an item on one platform and then using it on a PlayStation 4. It’s not clear if that policy persists today, but Sony is offering hope it might change. A potential solution could involve allowing PS4 players to access their accounts on the Nintendo Switch for progression and sync, but still blocking core cross-play so PS4 players can’t play with Switch friends. This wouldn’t be an ideal solution, providing Epic Games agreed to it, but it would be one that Fortnite fans could probably accept.