The announcement of the Minecraft Better Together update during E3 2017 had a heavy cloud hanging over it for part of the console community. The release that intends to combine all bedrock editions, which are the console, mobile, and Windows 10 versions. Unfortunately, the announcement left out PlayStation with Sony firmly stating that they were not interested in the cross-play option for Minecraft.
Since then, the controversial debate about Minecraft (and other games) having servers between PlayStation and other platforms outside of the PlayStation Network has been on fire. Jim Ryan from PlayStation marketing brought up safety concerns for the younger demographic of Minecraft players, but Xbox Phil Spencer countered that safety is incredibly important. Both of them stated that the decision wasn’t set in stone, so to speak.
Now, as the Minecraft Better Together Update has released into a beta for Windows 10, Android, and Xbox One, Mojang says that they are “still in discussions” with Sony. On the current beta FAQ, it says:
Q: Will the new version be available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch?
A: While we are thrilled to be able to confirm the new version of Minecraft is coming to Nintendo Switch, we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.
The stretch of playing across all platforms for Minecraft has been a major goal for the game’s developers and Microsoft for quite some time. With Sony’s initial refusal, Mojang has at least confirmed that PlayStation users will get ongoing content updates even if the cross-play feature isn’t available to them.
