PS4 Fortnite Players Locked from Playing on Switch

Sony has been a notorious opponent of cross-platform play. Most recently, Sony has slammed the door shut on cross-platform play with the mega-popular Fortnite on their system. Fortnite players on Xbox One and Switch can’t play with their friends on PS4 and vice-versa. PS4 players can, however, play with players on iOS and PC. The worst part isn’t the cross-platform play, though, it’s Sony’s absurd account lockout policy. 

Sony Holding Fortnite Accounts Hostage 

Against the advice of literally every industry analyst, Sony has declared outright war on the concept of playing nice with Nintendo and Microsoft. After Fortnite’s Switch launch on June 12th, a number of Switch owners were stunned to see they couldn’t link their Epic accounts to their Switch. If you’ve paired your Epic account with the PlayStation 4, you’re locked out from linking it on the Switch. Or the Xbox One, for what it’s worth, but most people hadn’t ever tried to jump from the Xbox to PS4. Gamers were understandably outraged, though, as Sony had given no indication that accounts linked to the PS4 version of the game would be locked from future ports of the game. 

Sony’s Response to Criticism 

Sony has been frustratingly evasive on this matter. When asked directly about it, they elected to boast about user numbers on their platform. Classy, Sony. While Epic has given no indication yet of how they will handle this issue, Nintendo was quick to apologize to their affected fans. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, expressed how he wished Nintendo could help, but the issue is out of their hands. Sony has chosen to enter this battle unbidden, purposefully alienating PS4 owners who also have a Switch.  

For context, Switch and Xbox owners are able to play with any system that has the game, except, of course, PS4. The only thing standing between the world’s most popular game and full cross-platform play across all systems is Sony. This is really a shame, as the company is  driving a wedge between the game’s community over stubbornness. 

What Can Be Done? 

Sadly, for the time being, it seems that there is nothing affected users can do. If a user were to make a new account, they could play on Switch. However, their progress and any real-world money spent on their account would be locked on the PS4.  

Perhaps Epic could allow users to migrate their accounts as a one-time service. Perhaps allowing users to remove PlayStation markers from their account and move to Xbox or Switch. Doing so would be in direct opposition to Sony. However, it would be a reasonable act in light of Sony’s unprecedented stubborn attitude. Until more news breaks, though, PS4 Fortnite users who want to play on Switch are left with few options. That, and a great deal of frustration at Sony.