Former Sony Head Claims Fortnite Cross-Play Blocked Due To ‘Money’

Fornite was launched on the Nintendo Switch recently and PlayStation 4 owners don’t get progression sync or cross-play with the console, much like how it is with the Xbox One. The block prevents the player from carrying over their progress, purchases, and skins from Fortnite on PlayStation 4 to either console. Joe Smedley, the former boss of Sony Online Entertainment, claims that the block is due to “money.”

Fortnite players on PlayStation 4 can’t use their account when they play the game on any other console. Which means they need to make another account with separate purchases, progress, and skins for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, both of which place no such bar on their players.

Smedley tweeted that when he was at Sony, the stated reason for blocking cross-play was internally stated to be money, that Sony “didn’t like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a Playstation.”

Sony hasn’t responded to this at this point in time and its response to the recent backlash concerning the Fortnite block didn’t really do much to address fans’ concerns. It seems unlikely at this point in time that Sony will change its decision regarding cross-play and progress sync ban between the PlayStation 4 and other consoles.

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btw when I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money. They didn't like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a Playstation. simple as that. dumb reason, but there it is.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) June 18, 2018

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Fortnite, PlayStation 4, Sony