Microsoft in Talks With Sony for Xbox One-PS4 Cross-Platform Play

Sony has been adamant about not allowing cross-platform play with other consoles for PS4, but Microsoft is still trying to convince the market leader.

In an interview at Gamescom this week, when GameReactor asked if Microsoft was in discussion with Sony, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg said: "Absolutely, yeah. We're talking to Sony [about cross-platform play]."

"We do partner with them on Minecraft, and of course, we would like to enable them to be part of that: one community, to unite gamers. So we're talking to them and we're hopeful that they'll be supportive of it."

It's obvious why Sony would be hesitant to partner up, given the PS4 is the clear winner in the current console generation, having outsold the Xbox One 2:1. While Microsoft stopped sharing official sales figures a while ago, market estimates put it around 26-28 million. Sony's own estimates put the PS4 over 60 million.

Sony's last official statement was laughably ridiculous, noting it won't support cross-platform play because it wants to keep its players safe. That argument goes out the window when you realise that Rocket League, Fortnite, and Gwent: The Witcher Card Game do have PS4-PC support.

If Microsoft is able to convince Sony to get on the cross-platform play bandwagon, it'd be a huge win for the community. But at this point, it does seem like a pipe dream.

Greenberg made another interesting comment during Microsoft's Gamescom panel on Monday, where he said that players "pick Xbox because we have the biggest franchises", in the likes of Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and Crackdown.

That not only ignores the year Xbox One has had so far in comparison to PS4, but it also Sony's own recent/ upcoming exclusives, including Uncharted, God of War, Spider-Man, and Gran Turismo.