Sony's most recent cross-play related controversy emanated from Fortnite, where registered Epic accounts could not then sign in on a different platform. Given the size of Fortnite, this ruffled a lot of feathers. Now keeping Sony in the crosshair over the matter, Bethesda has issued a back handed ultimatum.
While not explicitly self confessed as an ultimatum, Bethesda have stated in about every word otherwise possible that Elder Scrolls: Legends will not release on the PlayStation 4 as previously planned, if Sony continues to refuse to back down on allowing cross play compatibility. Backing this sentiment up, Vice President of Bethesda Softworks and PR Pete Hines has stated quite clearly "The way the game works right now on Apple, Google, Steam, and Bethesda.net, it doesn't matter where you buy your stuff — if you play it on another platform, that stuff is there," in a recent interview with Game Informer. "It doesn't matter what platform you play on — you play against everyone else who is playing at that moment."
The overriding rhetoric surrounding the release of Elder Scrolls: Legends right now is that it can be played across as many platforms possible, thankfully due to its lack of demand on any given machine. It’s a card game. There is no risk of frame rate issues or performance quibbles of any kind, leaving many to remain baffled over Sony’s insistence not to break. The unofficial consensus is that Sony wants to greedily hoard it’s PlayStation audience all to itself. Although, the risk for them is that the longer they remain in this camp, the more outdated their mindset becomes in comparison to their competition.
Hines goes on to state “It is our intention in order for the game to come out, it has to be those things on any system… We cannot have a game that works one way across everywhere else except for on this one thing,” which again, may as well be an alternatively worded ultimatum on behalf of Bethesda. Elder Scrolls: Legends is not a major release with which to hold Sony to ransom for their decisions. It does however, stand as a reminder of the ongoing pressure on Sony to deliver a gaming environment that everyone except the PlayStation audience currently enjoys.
