Epic Games Says Divide Between PlayStation and Xbox Owners "Doesn't Need to Be There"

Epic Games has once again spoken out about the separation of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owners with the company's CEO saying that such a divide has no reason to exist.

Speaking to Rolling Stone's Glixel, Epic Games founder CEO and founder Tim Sweeney had a lot to say about cross-platform play between not just the two consoles but all platforms in general. Comparing the cross-platform play to a social network that would allow players to connect with each other regardless of their preferred platform, Sweeney referenced Epic Games' Fortnite in an example to show the pointlessness of the division between consoles.

"With a game like Fortnite, in middle schools you have classrooms who play together," Sweeney told Glixel. "That traditional divide between PlayStation and Xbox owners doesn't need to be there."

Sweeney certainly doesn't appear to be alone in that sentiment either. No matter what console or device they own, gamers have been suggesting cross-platform play for a while now, something that Epic Games has vocally supported in the past. Cross-platform play between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles has even been activated more than once on accident in Fortnite, so the capabilities are certainly there, but Sony's not having it.

Sony is the only platform that appears to be holding out as well. While Xbox One and Nintendo Switch owners can even play games like Rocket League together, PlayStation players don't have such an option. The console does offer some cross-play potential with the PC on certain games, but no such feature has been allowed that would bridge the consoles together.

But if any game could help facilitate a cross-platform agreement, it looks like Fortnite would be a strong candidate. The game is now available on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as the Windows and Mac platforms and just recently became available on iOS devices with Android following soon. Console and PC players can even play with those on the mobile versions as well, and even though the consoles still don't support the cross-play, Sweeney said that there is at least some slight progress being made with the way that both console companies honor purchases made on the iOS devices.

"It's an amazing thing," Sweeney said, "Sony and Microsoft honor purchases in Fortnite made on an iOS platform, or on their platform. In that way all of these platforms are working together."

This is fra from the first time that such a discussion about cross-play has been held, and it won't be the last, but maybe these pushes form developers like Epic Games can eventually help close the divide between console owners.