Sony’s path to embracing Cross Play on Minecraft was a long one. Cross-play allows players across platforms to play Minecraft with each other. Cross-play is surely the future of multiplayer gameplay. Sony questioned the integrity of Microsoft’s plans and suggested it would make PlayStation Network customers unsafe. PlayStation global sales and marketing head Jim Ryan described the decision a “philosophical” one: “We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft – the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it’s all ages but it’s also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.”
Change of Policy
Microsoft continued to negotiate with Sony over the introduction of Minecraft Cross Play. In 2018, the company finally relented and allowed Cross Play on Fortnite. This decision also opened the door for Minecraft on PS4. “One of Minecraft’s core missions is to connect players across devices and provide the best experience regardless of platform,” says Minecraft studio head Helen Chiang, in a statement to The Verge. “We continue to fulfill that mission here today by welcoming PS4 players to Minecraft on Bedrock and growing our cross-platform multiplayer community.”
