The dream of Xbox One and PS4 online cross-play briefly became a reality this weekend when Epic Games mistakenly enabled owners of rival consoles to play against each other.
Over the weekend a Fortnite gamer on PS4 gamers spotted an Xbox One username during a encounter within the Battle Royale mode.
The gamer, who goes under the name PRE_-CISION-_ told Kotaku: “I noticed the gamer tag of this dude had a space in it, which was bizarre. I searched for his tag with an underscore on Playstation Network without any luck.”
However a quick search on Xbox Live turned up the name.
Elsewhere, on Reddit one poster shared a picture of an Xbox One and a PS4 hooked up online in the same room.
Sadly, Kotaku reports, it was a mistake on the developers part, rather than a new feature.
In an email Epic said the anomaly, which remained in play for several hours was due to a “configuration issue” which “has now been corrected.”
Booo!
Play Anywhere?
The possibility of cross-play continues to intrigue gamers who’re often segregated by their choice of Microsoft or Sony consoles.
Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative allows Xbox and PC gamers to battle each other online.
Also, Psyonix Studios, the creator of Rocket League is ready to enable cross-play if Sony ever signs off on it.
Alas, that’s unlikely to happen. While Microsoft is up for it, Sony remained cold to the prospect as of spring 2016.
Sony has said it is ‘willing to have the conversation’ but it doesn’t seem to be any rush to throw Xbox gamers a bone.
Would enabling cross-play online be a smart move from Microsoft or Sony? Or is the wise play to keep the two factions segregated? Share your thoughts with us @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.