PlayStation announce cross-play and cross progression for Fortnite on PS4 with all other platforms

PlayStation have officially announced that Fortnite cross-platform play, progression and commerce will be available between PS4 and all other Fortnite platforms – including Xbox One.

Sony revealed that it will be an extended ‘beta’, as they respond to growing community demand, and the negative reception to their previous stubbornness on cross play. The beta begins on September 26.

“Open beta beginning today for Fortnite that will allow for cross platform gameplay, progression and commerce across PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Mac operating systems.”

There is no set date on how long the beta will last, as Sony work to identify any security and technical issues, but say they will give more details on the “beta timeframe” soon.

We see the beta as an opportunity to conduct thorough testing that ensures cross-platform play is best on PlayStation, while being mindful about the user experience from both a technical and social perspective.

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Cross-play with PC has been possible on PS4 since Fortnite’s release, at first unofficially as users found ways to use the Epic Games launcher to meet in the same lobby, and later added as a developer supported feature.

Pressure really started to mount on Sony when the Nintendo Switch version of Fortnite was released, and Xbox and Nintendo teamed up to promote the cross-play ability – rubbing it in the face of Sony and PS4 players.

Sony says it now recognizes that communties in “some games”, are at a point “where cross-platform experiences add significant value to players”. They also explain that it is a “major policy change”, as they look to opening up the platform more in the future.

Source: PlayStation