Upon crossplay’s launch on the PlayStation 4 last year, Sony outlined a beta phase, wherein only a handful of developers would gain access to the feature. As such, Fortnite and Rocket League led the charge. Since then, Dauntless and PUBG have supported crossplay functionality, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare set to have it in place at launch. Well, now the beta phase is over. Any developer can implement crossplay whenever they see fit.
The news comes in a rather unorthodox fashion. Instead of Sony ceremoniously announcing crossplay’s readiness in an official statement, the information initially hit the web courtesy of a Wired interview with Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan. While speaking to Wired about the prevalence of cloud gaming, specifically where PlayStation Now is concerned, Ryan spoke of wanting to build upon success as the next-generation of hardware approaches. He told the publication, “the track record of the incumbent platform winning the next time around is not a great one. So the major thrust of my executive energy is to avoid complacency.”
Sony’s changing stance on crossplay, at the very least, seems indicative of growth. The same can be said of the company’s steps to make PlayStation Now a more appealing game streaming option. Just yesterday, Sony unveiled a new pricing model for the service, which considerably lowers the price across several territories. This evidently appears to be a move to get ahead of Google Stadia’s November launch, and compete on a pricing front. Thanks to the addition of God of War, Infamous Second Son, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and GTA V to the PS Now lineup (until January 2020), Sony is also able to better compete from a content standpoint.
How else might the company aim to rise above the competition as this generation comes to an end? For now, it’s truly anyone’s guess.
