Playstation CEO Jim Ryan says Sony is changing up to accommodate the crossplay support that most gamers now expect from titles.
Jim Ryan is now insisting that Sony wants crossplay for their titles. In an interview with Axios, he expressed that they are encouraging the system in some current games. They are even expecting future titles to receive crossplay in the future.
Sony charges publishers for crossplay support, documents tell
Crossplay is becoming one of the clearest trends in multiplayer gaming. With most game consoles now having almost the same performance, platform advantages are blurring out.
The only separation that is clear now comes in the form of shooters on PC vs consoles. Even then, most players are doing MMO or coop titles, and usually, console to console. Playstation is among the most crossplay-resistant brands out there, and for a reason.
Revealed within the Apple vs Epic documents, Sony apparently charges a crossplay fee. Sony allowing crossplay only comes after a special royalty fee that publishers cough up. This allows Sony to prevent publishers from running away to other consoles.
Now, Sony is changing tunes once again. In an interview with Axios, Playstation CEO Jim Ryan says they are encouraging crossplay. Whether they’re doing steps to make it cheaper for their publishers is a different story altogether.
“We support and encourage cross-play,” Ryan told in the interview. He further pointed out at other titles in Playstation with crossplay. These include titles like Fortnite, Rocket League, Call of Duty, Minecraft.
He also notes that Destiny 2 will receive crossplay support soon and “that number will continue to grow.” This becomes problem when fans look at Sony’s history.
Some companies still not happy with Sony crossplay support
Back in 2018, Playstation was the last to allow crossplay across all platforms. The company is also having a problem with other publishers. Some titles are adding crossplay everywhere except Playstation, chief among them being Borderlands 3.
Good news or bad news first? Good News: An update for Borderlands 3 has been prepared for release that includes full crossplay support across all platforms. Bad News: For certification, we have been required by the publisher to remove crossplay support for PlayStation consoles.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 27, 2021
In a tweet, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford announced crossplay for Borderlands 3. This crossplay, however, does not support the Playstation.
“Good news or bad news first?” said Pitchford. “Good News: An update for Borderlands 3 has been prepared for release that includes full crossplay support across all platforms. Bad News: For certification, we have been required by the publisher to remove crossplay support for PlayStation consoles.”
Jim Ryan told Axios, in regards to Borderlands, that he doesn’t want to discuss “live business issue with a long-standing partner.” Even then, he detailed to the Axios team that “our policies are consistent across all of the publishers.”
Featured image courtesy of Playstation/YouTube Screenshot