At its E3 2017 conference, Microsoft announced that it is bringing cross-platform play to Minecraft, allowing PC, Xbox, Switch, and mobile users to play together. It also announced similar capabilities for Rocket League earlier.
The company's move has been praised by a majority of gamers, while Sony's decision to reject cross-platform play has been generally derided. Now, gamers will be pleased to know that Microsoft is steadfast in its plans to support developers to enable cross-network gameplay.
In a tweet, Microsoft executive Mike Ybarra noted that cross-play is here to stay, saying that:
Our data shows people want larger multiplayer pools of people to play with and the choice to play together. This isn't going away. https://t.co/QRLhLrSoth
— Mike Ybarra (@XboxQwik) August 4, 2017
On the other hand, Sony faced quite a lot of backlash for rejecting Microsoft's request to enable cross-play for Minecraft on the PlayStation 4. PlayStation global sales and marketing head Jim Ryan claimed that the reason for the firm's decision was that Sony has to be "mindful of our responsibility to our install base".
Understandably offended by the comment, Xbox head Phil Spencer voiced anger at the Sony executive's statement, saying that "we would never put Minecraft in a place where we felt that our players weren't safe". In fact, the company recently made changes to the title's multiplayer features to make people feel safer online. Even Rocket League's developer noted that the title would die without cross-play.
While Sony currently remains resolute in its stance, Xbox gamers who prefer playing with a larger community of players will be happy to know that the feature isn't going away any time soon.
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