Developers Accuse Sony of 'Playing Favorites' With PS4's Cross-Platform Support

After years of fighting the idea, Sony announced last September it is finally bringing 'cross-platform gameplay, progression, and commerce' to the PlayStation Network, with Fortnite as the first example. Months later, the company's efforts have yet to gain wide traction and now we may have identified the bottleneck: Sony. Several major third-party developers have accused the company of standing in the way of letting the PS4 versions of their games play nicely with other platforms. ArsTechnica reports: 'We just launched Wargroove with crossplay between PC, Switch, and Xbox,' Chucklefish CEO Finn 'Tiy' Brice wrote on the ResetEra forums. 'We made many requests for crossplay (both through our [Sony] account manager and directly with higher-ups) all the way up until release month. We were told in no uncertain terms that it was not going to happen.' Brice's comments came days after new Hi-Rez Studios CEO Stew Chisam tweeted at Sony that the studio was 'ready to go when you are' for cross-play on Smite, Paladins, and Realm Royale. 'It's time to stop playing favorites and tear down the crossplay/progression wall for everyone,' he said.

In a follow-up tweet, Chisam explained that Xbox/Switch cross-play has led to a direct improvement in the Paladins online user experience, including reduced wait times, more balanced matchmaking, and fewer 'bad' matches overall. Brice's comments in particular come in direct response (and contradiction) to a recent Game Informer interview in which Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman Shawn Layden said that cross-play was open to pretty much any PS4 developer that wants it.

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