Sony Caves, Enables Cross Platform Play For Fortnite

30 months after Microsoft opened up the Xbox ecosystem to cross platform play, Sony finally decided to follow suit. Initially, Sony was able to maintain its walled-garden approach due to its massive lead in this generation's console market. The massive success of Fortnite changed that. Millions of gamers were frustrated that Sony was standing in the way of PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch users playing together.

Today's update serves as a beta for cross-platform play and only applies to the smash hit Fortnite, but cross-play will soon become a feature for any 3rd party developer who chooses to support it. In their official announcement Sony claims cross-play was a feature that they have always worked towards, but its clear the real reason for the the sudden change is Fortnite's enormous success. That means even those of us who don't play the hit Battle Royale title still owe it a debt of gratitude.

It should be noted that PlayStation users could previously cross-play with those on the PC, iOS, and Android platforms. The new update completes the circle by also allowing Xbox One and Nintendo Switch cross-play as well.

Further Reading: Extended Fortnite Cross-Play Beta Launches on PS4 Starting Today