Cross-play between consoles just got easier as Sony eases restrictions

Over the past few weeks, there has been no shortage of news that involves Sony in many ways. The video game industry is reportedly anticipating a big announcement from the Japanese company soon. While the word going around suggests that the PS5 might be on the agenda, a recently published story just revealed something likewise exciting. There is high chance that cross-play is about to become even more accessible as the manufacturer eases its restrictions against cross-platform multiplayer.

Previously, Sony's decision to limit cross-play between other consoles came under fire from gamers and critics alike. The only platform that the PlayStation 4 was regularly interacting with was the PC, which was still limited to certain titles. The company was in a position wherein its hardware sales put it in a favourable position to decline what players wanted.

The gaming company was talking about its PlayStation Now cloud streaming service, according to WIRED. Furthermore, it was confirmed that cross-play is no longer restricted. In fact, developers that want to enable the feature can do so now. On a side note, with Google launching Stadia next month and Microsoft testing its Project xCloud platform, Sony is hoping to keep its subscribers happy with a price adjustment.

A report from Forbes shows that In 2017, current Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan specified why it was against cross-play. He implied the company wanted to protect its users from exposure to undesirable elements online. Microsoft, on the other hand, was more than willing to open its networks. It was not until the 'Fortnite' incident later that year wherein Epic mistakenly enabled matches between Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users that gamers again requested to enable the feature by default.

Now that Sony is more open to cross-platform communication, it won't be long before developers revisit older titles and enable cross-play. Popular multiplayer games available across multiple platforms can potentially benefit from this development. This might not be the news gamers are hoping to hear from Sony, but its benefits might likely carry over to the PS5.