Earlier this week, Epic Games enabled PS4 and Xbox One cross-platform play in Fortnite. Although the developer explained that the crossplay was an accident and quickly moved to fix it, the majority of Fortnite fans had hoped that the feature would stay switched on.

One particular proponent of Fortnite console crossplay is Phil Spencer. On Twitter, a fan asked the recently promoted Xbox boss about the accidental crossplay, noting that "everybody was loving it". Voicing his disappointment at how the situation turned out, Spencer responded that he "would have liked to see [Epic Games] leave it on." The replies to Spencer's tweet are filled with frustrated Fortnite fans voicing similar sentiments.

The conversation surrounding console crossplay has been growing for several months. Things came to a head this summer when it was revealed that the PS4 would not be part of the Minecraft cross-platform play update. At the time, Sony explained that it was concerned about safeguarding younger players of the blocky building title, something which saw Spencer hit back at the company in a strongly worded interview.

Minecraft and Fortnite are not the only affected games, with Rocket League also having crossplay ready to go. The fact that these developers are only held back from hitting the 'on' button by red tape is making more and more players on both sides become frustrated with the PS4 platform holder.

What's at least positive is that things do seem to be progressing. Epic Games allowed Fortnite crossplay simply by accident, leading fans to argue that if it's so simple it can be done accidentally then there's no reason for Sony to hold developers back any longer. If developers want it and fans are eager for it too, then let these companies open the floodgates and allow everybody to play together.

Moreover, Microsoft and Sony have been in talks about crossplay for several months. At this point, it's unclear how well those talks are going and how close the two companies may be in putting a proper agreement in place. But it's surely a good sign that the talks are ongoing. And with developers being able to enable crossplay at the drop of the hat, it means that as soon as Sony and Microsoft can agree, the cross-platform play fun can begin properly this time.

Fortnite is out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.