One of the things about Fortnite that made it so accessible was its cross-platform accessibility. It looks like Epic Games just changed that up according to a new update, taking Nintendo Switch players out of the equation when it comes to the three major consoles.
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As of Tuesday, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players are pooled together into one matchmaking group, while Nintendo Switch players are grouped up with mobile players. The move was unexpected and quite honestly, unfair to those playing on the Switch. Mobile to mobile makes sense, but the Switch is a platform in its own right with controls not dissimilar to that of its PS4 and Xbox One counterparts.
According to the official patch notes:
Battle Royale Crossplay Matchmaking
- Combined Xbox One and PS4 pools.
- This requires you to opt-in to cross-play.
- Players opt-ing out are restricted to Creative Mode and Playgrounds.
- Combined Mobile and Switch pools.
- Before, Switch players were combined with Xbox One and PS4 cross-play parties.
- We expect an on-average better per-game experience for both Mobile and Switch players.
- Motivating factor is unlocking optimization potential allowing us to run more playlists during more hours of the day while supporting more data center locations. Please provide us with feedback on your experience!
Though the move has a positive spin on it, it still doesn’t take away from the Switch slight. Though some have mentioned that they felt that console to PC pairings were unfair due to the difference in controls, the Switch to other platforms difference isn’t enough to justify the alienation. Though it is important to remember that there is an FPS difference from 30FPS to 60FPS between Xbox, PlayStation, and the Switch, and player complaints about this exact difference have been plentiful.
Also it’s worth noting that Fortnite is a big reason why Sony flipped their stance on cross-platform play, which makes the move to separate the consoles this feature applies to all the more strange.
What do you think about the sudden break in matchmaking pools? Was it the right decision, or do you feel like it’s a bit of backtracking? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.
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