Sony has finally agreed to support cross-play between consoles on the PlayStation 4, marking a major u-turn for the console maker.
The company will kickstart the process with the launch of an open cross-play beta for battle royale hit Fortnite, which will allow PS4 owners to duke it out with their friends on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Windows PC, and Mac.
Sony had previously been bullish about the prospect of full-fledged cross-play on PS4 — despite already allowing PS4 and PC owners to play together — but appeared to have softened its stance in recent months as pressure from game developers and fans mounted.
Now, the turnaround is complete, and Sony claims it has “identified a path toward supporting cross-platform features for select third party content.”
“We recognize that PS4 players have been eagerly awaiting an update [with regard to cross-play], and we appreciate the community’s continued patience as we have navigated through this issue to find a solution,” reads a post on the PlayStation blog.
“We see the Fortnite 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.
“This represents a major policy change for Sony Interactive Entertainment, 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.”