Screenshot: Minecraft/Xbox One
PS4 and Xbox One owners may soon be able to play online multiplayer games with each other, after Microsoft confirmed that they are in talks with Sony in order to bring crossplay between both platforms.
The revelation was made by Microsoft’s head of games marketing Aaron Greenberg during Gamescom, who noted that the pair were in talks to make Minecraft available to play online across the PS4 and Xbox One consoles. Sony has remained reluctant to allow PS4 owners to play with owners of other systems, remaining absent from the deal struck between Microsoft and Nintendo when they introduced cross-platform play for Rocket League. However, Greenberg offered a glimmer of hope in an interview with Game Reactor, revealing that they were in discussions with Sony in order to make cross-play a reality.
When asked if Microsoft were actively seeking to build a crossplay relationship with Sony, Greenberg replied: “Absolutely, yeah. We’re talking to Sony [about crossplay], we do partner with them on Minecraft and of course we would like to enable them to be part of that; one community, to unite gamers. So we’re talking to them and we’re hopeful that they’ll be supportive of it.”
Photo: Xbox-One
Crossplay is something both PS4 and Xbox One owners have been requesting for a while now, with Microsoft making moves towards allowing Xbox One owners to play their multiplayer games with other players on PC and, with Rocket League, the Nintendo Switch. However, with Sony still being the company’s biggest rivals in the gaming market, they have thus far not been able to collaborate on a crossplay game between the PS4 and the Xbox One.
Sony has not revealed why it remains reluctant to allow crossplay between the PS4 and Xbox One, though there are a number of issues that such a partnership would present. For one, it would require Sony to make its users create an Xbox Live account, while they would also need to organize who would handle each game’s online infrastructure. There’s also the issue of Sony already possessing much of the market share, meaning Microsoft has more to benefit from allowing cross-platform play considering that it has a vested interested in both the Xbox One and PC platforms. Still, it’d certainly be beneficial for gamers, who would be able to enjoy online gaming with one another no matter which platform they played on if a deal is struck between the two rival companies.
