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Speaking with Eurogamer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Jim Ryan said that PlayStation 4 owners wouldn’t be able to avail of the cross-play feature on Minecraft, because of commercial decisions with stakeholders and the inability to control what kids on PS4 will be exposed to while playing with those on multiple formats.
It was announced during Microsoft’s E3 presser that Minecraft is now a cross-platform title, meaning PC, Xbox One, mobile and VR players can now all play with one another, regardless of the platform they’re playing on. The one name notable console omitted from that list is obviously PlayStation 4.
When asked about why this was the case, Ryan stated that Sony doesn’t have a ‘profound philosophical stance’ on the matter, and it’s just a case where Sony needs to chat to its stakeholders before any decision is made.
Now, in the same breath, Ryan said that with the Minecraft player base normally skewing quite young, Sony has a responsibility to ‘look after them’ while in a ‘PlayStation curated universe.’ He added that exposing kids to ‘external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.’
Even though Ryan didn’t rule out a deal ever being struck for Minecraft cross-play on PS4, he did go onto say ‘there is no live conversation ongoing at the moment,’ to the best of his knowledge.
During Nintendo’s E3 Spotlight it was announced that car football game Rocket League is coming to Nintendo Switch, again, with cross-platform play so PC, Xbox One and Switch owners can all play together. PS4, however, was once again missing from the list. If cross-play becomes a more regular thing, maybe that conversation will go ‘live’ sooner rather than later.Â
