Microsoft first revealed it would allow Xbox gamers to play against PS4 and PC players at E3 last year, and Sony’s initial reaction seemed like it would be open to the idea. “We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross platform play,” said a Sony spokesperson at the time. This week at E3, both Rocket League and Minecraft are going cross-platform play, allowing players on Nintendo’s Switch, a Windows PC, Mac, or Xbox One to play against each other. The big missing part is Sony’s PlayStation 4.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Jim Ryan, head of global sales and marketing for PlayStation, attempted to defend Sony’s block of cross-platform play. “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,” says Ryan. “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.”
