Sony Responds to 'Fortnite' Switch Crossplay Backlash

Fortnite for the Nintendo Switch was a phenomenal announcement for numerous reasons. Not only were fans excited that the popular battle royale title was coming to yet another platform, but many were hoping that would nudge Sony into the direction of cross-play since they are the only company halting that specific train. Unfortunately, Sony is still not feeling the whole "play with others" thing - but many were hoping that the Nintendo Switch reveal would prompt them to join up with all platforms. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Need a little help figuring out which platform is compatible with other platforms:

• PlayStation 4
  • PC, Mac, iOS
• Xbox One
  • PC, Mac, iOS, and Nintendo Switch

After the immediate backlash that ensued, the PlayStation camp has finally issued a response stating:

"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online.

With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."

The Nintendo of America president even weighed in on the controversy. Reggie Fils-Aime did preface his statement to IGN by saying that Sony's decisions are theirs to make, and that they will respect how they choose to please their players. That being said, Nintendo wants to remain vigilant in their play experience and have renewed their commitment to player accessibility.

"We embrace working with a developer and enabling them to bring their vision to life," Fils-Aime said. "And whether that's Fortnite, whether that's a number of the other games that have cross-platform play on our console, from a developer standpoint that's what we want. And we work hard with them to bring that to life."

Both the PC and Xbox camps has mentioned they want to work with Sony for this particular game, but Sony has been very clear in the past that they don't feel cross-platform play is a priority for them "at this time." With the game arriving on Nintendo Switch, available now, we are still holding out hope that the PlayStation crew will ultimately change their mind.

Fortnite is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and iOS. The game is also expected to arrive on Android devices this summer, though we don't have a set release date at this time.