Minecraft Bedrock Edition Brings PlayStation 4 to the Cross-Play Party

In June of 2018, Nintendo and Microsoft released a bold trailer promoting cross-play between [...]

By Marc Deschamps

In June of 2018, Nintendo and Microsoft released a bold trailer promoting cross-play between Switch and Xbox One, with a pair of players enjoying Minecraft together. The "Better Together" campaign started a month prior, but the trailer debuted just a week after Sony received heavy backlash at E3 for blocking cross-play between the various versions of Fortnite and other titles. For those following the story, it very much looked like Nintendo and Microsoft were giving the industry leader a gentle ribbing about their refusal to play along, and Sony eventually relented. Tomorrow, that journey finally comes to an end with the release of Minecraft Bedrock Version on PlayStation 4, which will finally allow PS4 players to enjoy the game with everyone else!

Minecraft Bedrock Version is not a new game; PS4 owners that have already purchased Minecraft will simply update to the new version of the game, free of charge. In addition to cross-play, the update will also allow PlayStation users to access the Minecraft Marketplace, where a number of different add-ons for the game are available.

It seems only fitting that the launch trailer for Bedrock Version revisits the "Better Together" premise Nintendo and Microsoft championed in 2018. While the trailer does feature different actors this time around, it's a neat endcap for those who followed the story in the first place, and it really hammers home the cross-play concept, despite the fact that PC and mobile aren't featured.

Cross-play between consoles, PC and mobile is a relatively new concept, but it's one that could prove beneficial for the industry as a whole, in the long run. By allowing owners of all kinds of different devices to play together, publishers are helping to ensure that online players have access to a larger pool of people to play with. Theoretically, this will increase the longevity of games, allowing buyers to feel more secure in their purchase of the games themselves, not to mention add-ons like DLC, skins and more. With the attention span of consumers being notoriously short, anything that keeps people playing and forming emotional investments in their games is a good thing.

Are you a Minecraft fan? Are you excited about being able to play alongside PS4 players? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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