Fortnite’s latest update may have been all about the new Baller vehicle, but there were some pretty significant changes with regards to cross-play, as well. As part of the update, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One pools have been combined, meaning all PlayStation 4 players must opt-in to cross-platform play if they wish to take part in Fortnite battle royale. Any players who don’t want to enable cross-play will not be able to take part in battle royale and are restricted to Creative Mode and Playgrounds.
In addition, Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms will have their pools combined. As such, players on these platforms will not be matched up with PS4 or Xbox One players. Many agreed that the former platforms were at a major disadvantage, so this does have the potential to create better matches for everyone involved.
Requiring Fortnite players to opt-in to cross-play is a major change from a year ago, when cross-play with the Xbox One wasn’t even an option. When the feature finally was announced, it marked a huge shift in policy for Sony. Only one other title has since enabled cross-platform play on the PS4, Rocket League, and we’ve yet to hear any developments regarding other titles.
Epic claims this decision is to completely reach “optimization potential allowing us to run more playlists during more hours of the day while supporting more data center locations.” So, in other words, putting more players together means Epic can run more game modes moving forward. It also creates better opportunities when it comes to balancing players, as well.
What do you make of this change? Are you excited that you’ll always be playing with other platforms, or are you skeptical? Let us know!
[Source: Epic Games]
