Update: Activision has publicly addressed the fact that it didn’t include Share Play support in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. It said the following to GameInformer.
Delivering a great gaming experience for fans is our top priority,” the company says in a statement we received via email. “We’re focused on launching Advanced Warfare and ensuring that people have a great time playing it, which our fans seem to be. Share Play is a new feature that was introduced as part of the recent PS4 firmware 2.00 update. Our engineers didn’t have access to it before it launched, so we haven’t had a chance to evaluate it to see how it will impact the experience across all modes of play. Of course we wouldn’t include a feature in our game without having the chance to test it. Once we’ve fully analyzed its performance, we’ll determine how to support it going forward.
Take that for what you will. The feature’s future looks a bit more promising now.
Original Story: If you’re a PS4 owner, the recent introduction of Share Play in the console’s 2.0 update likely had you excited. Announced as a way for gamers to join one another in local multiplayer experiences through the internet, in addition to being able to let others play one another’s libraries, it almost sounded too good to be true. While high latency is one shortcoming, there’s something much more important that may hinder it for the foreseeable future.
PS4 owners who have been playing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare have noticed that Share Play isn’t available for the title. After a few days of shooting questions Sony’s way, one outlet has finally received a response.
CVG was told the following by Sony:
Share Play is a system level feature enabled by System Software Update 2.0 making it available for all PS4 titles, however the option is available to developers to disable the feature according to what they feel will best benefit the consumer experience.
Given that Share Play allows gamers to enjoy games from the library of others for free, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where big publisher such as Ubisoft and EA will bother enabling the feature. As powerful as it is, it might be something that only exclusive games will feature.
Also See: 8 PS4 Games to Look Forward To
Even if that’s the case, Sony’s first-party offering are some of the best in the industry. While Share Play might not be as big of a deal as was once thought, being able to take over control of games like Bloodborne or Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End from someone else’s console is an incredible prospect.
