Fortnite accounts tied to PS4 won’t work on Switch; Sony shares drop

The release of Fortnite on Nintendo Switch has once again reminded players that Sony is blocking cross-platform play between PS4 and other platforms including Windows PC, Xbox One, Switch and iOS.

Hopeful Switch players who downloaded Fortnite last week were gently reminded of Sony’s unwillingness to provide cross-platform functionality.

“This Fortnite account is associated with a platform which does not allow it to operate on Switch,” read a message that greeted Switch players who’d previously played on PS4. “Neither the Fortnite website nor Epic Customer Service are able to change this. To play Fortnite on Switch, please create a new account.”

Needless to say, Fortnite players weren’t pleased.

Neither were Sony shareholders, after player backlash — CNBC reported that Sony shares fell 2% once news of the cross-platform block became widespread.

“We’re always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience. With… more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we’ve built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles,” a Sony representative told BBC News in response to the share drop.

The Sony representative also said — though, by omission — that cross-platform play between the PS4 and platforms like Xbox One and Switch wasn’t on the cards.

“We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms,” the representative continued. “We have nothing further to add beyond this at this point.”

Epic Games Fornite accounts can be used across Switch, Xbox One, PC and iOS. Cross-platform play between PS4 and every other available Fortnite platform is easily possible, Epic says… and accidentally proved it last year when the functionality was accidentally enabled.