About the middle through the previous generation, we see console manufacturers begin to open their platforms to play cross platforms. While there are some resistance from Sony, the company finally allows Cross-Play on Playstation 4 because of fortnite. News recently might suggest that Sony still resist against Cross-Play to a certain level, but the company is now committed to offering it in the multiplatform game in the future.
In a recent interview with Axios, the president of Interactive Entertainment Sony Jim Ryan stated clearly that Sony would continue to allow cross-playing on the PlayStation Games. “We support and encourage cross-play,” said Ryan in a short interview, naming several big names that have supported Cross-play like Rocket League, Fortnite, and Minecraft. “That number will continue to grow,” Ryan added.
It is of course good news for those who have PlayStation 5 who have friends on other platforms because we recently heard about cross-playing problems with the Playstation console. Back in May, the CEO of Gearbox Randy Pitchford announced that while Cross-Play will come to most versions of Borderlands 3, the studio has been “requested by the publisher” to remove the support for the PlayStation console.
We are still not sure whether Sony or 2K Games (Borderlands 3 publisher) are responsible for that. In his interview with Axios, Ryan did not clarify this problem, saying only that he would not talk about “direct business problems with old partners.” He said that “Sony’s policy is consistent in all publishers,” but unfortunately, it did not tell us why there was no cross-play on the PlayStation of Borderlands 3 version.
Cross-play problems in Borderlands 3 can be done in the future, and if Sony is committed to playing Cross in the PlayStation console, we clearly hope it will happen. We will tell you if something has changed on the front, but for now, it looks like we have a Sony word that Cross-Play will continue to be supported on the Playstation 5.