Sony’s rigid stance against cross-platform support continues to cause trouble for both the company and game studios like Epic Games as a whole. The latest issue? Cross-play support for Fallout 76. According to a new statement from Bethesda’s Todd Howard made to German publication GameStar.de, “You cannot do cross-play in 76. We’d really love that, but right now we can’t. Sony is not as helpful as everyone would like.”
While the statement pretty much confirms that copies of Fallout 76 on PlayStation 4 won’t include cross-platform support when the game launches in November, it also doesn't mean that Xbox and PC copies won’t have cross-play. Of course, that cross-play would be strictly limited to the platforms that support it. For example, Minecraft recently rolled out cross-play support between Microsoft and Nintendo along with a quaint promotional commercial for the update.
This highlights how other companies are able to play nice with one another, even if Sony wants no part in the social festivities. At least, for the time being. Last week, Shawn Layden (president and chief executive officer at Sony Interactive Entertainment America) explained that Sony is currently “looking at a lot of possibilities” in an attempt to arrive at a solution that’ll be “understood and accepted by our gaming community.”
The statement was made in an attempt to calm some of the backlash directed at Sony following the company’s decision to not support Fortnite cross-play. A decision that was discovered when gamers tried to log into their PS4 Fortnite accounts on Nintendo Switch, only to find their accounts locked forcing them to either have to create a new account on the Switch, or stick solely to Fortnite on PS4.
With the level of anger the Fortnite cross-play issue has caused, and the jabs from Minecraft and Bethesda, it’s possible that Sony may reverse their stance against cross-platform support in the future in order to take advantage of new business opportunities. Especially considering how Sony’s motivating factor is, above all else, money.
Until (and if) Sony changes their mind, gamers will have to work around the fact that cross-play isn’t a feature offered on the Sony platform. What do you think of Todd Howard’s statements regarding cross-play in Fallout 76? Will this affect the platform you choose to purchase Fallout 76 for? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below, and stay tuned for new updates regarding the Sony cross-play issue.
