Tim Sweeney Believes Fortnite Crossplay Between Xbox One & PS4 is Inevitable
Will the pressure of Fortnite's success coerce Sony into hitting the big crossplay switch?
Late last year, someone at Epic Games "slipped up" and allowed Fortnite players on Xbox One and PS4 to play together. The error was rectified after a few hours, but the conversation never entirely died down. Now, the crossplay talk is getting another shot in the arm as Epic Games head Tim Sweeney declares that play between Xbox One and PS4 is inevitable.
Courtesy of GameIndustry.biz, Sweeney highlighted Epic's effort to make Fortnite accessible across all platforms. It recently launched on mobile devices and, thus far, seems to perform quite well. He points out that, if you purchase an item in one store, its available in the game across every platform and considers this a "great breakthrough for the industry". He adds that full-on crossplay is almost a certainty.
"I think it's inevitable now," he says. "Games have become social experiences in the same way that Facebook or Twitter have, and these experiences only really make sense if gamers can communicate with all of their friends.
If you've followed the crossplay discussion across the lives of the Xbox One and PS4, you'll know that the onus is ultimately on Sony to allow cross-play. Microsoft has regularly reaffirmed interest in crossplay, most notably with the popular indie titles Rocket League and Minecraft, but Sony has stood firm. Many wonder why Sony won't pull the trigger and let it happen, but it may boil down to the fact that they simply don't have to.
The company has the largest install base with the PS4 and has opened up the door with PC players on games like Rocket League. Otherwise, keeping Xbox One out of that equation continues to make the decision for developers, especially indie, lean in their favor if it comes down to releasing on one of two platforms. If crossplay is enabled universally, that opens a window of opportunity for Microsoft and the Xbox One.
Sweeney may hope that the overwhelming popularity of games will coerce Sony into making a move, but he probably shouldn't hold his breath. What say you Chatty? Let us know what you think about potential crossplay.
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replyCharles Singletary posted a new article, Tim Sweeney Believes Fortnite Crossplay Between Xbox One & PS4 is Inevitable
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xbox1 vs ps4 would be a pretty fun seasonal mode
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There's still no business reason for Sony to do it. There won't be until the XBox catches up in playerbase - platform exclusivity always benefits the leader. Maybe big publishers could sweet talk them into it, e.g. "we'll give you this exclusive DLC if you let us do crossplay." But they would need some very tempting bait for that to work.
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