At E3 2017, it was revealed that Rocket League is coming to the Nintendo Switch — and that competitors will be able to face off against Xbox One owners via cross-play. However, Sony is still reticent to let its PlayStation 4 user base join the fun, despite Psyonix's best efforts.
It's been almost a year since the studio confirmed that it was capable of letting PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players go head-to-head in Rocket League. Sony's refusal to give Psyonix permission has been the sticking point since the very beginning, and it seems that the company has no plans to change its mind.
"There have been slight variations on how it's been presented to us, but essentially it's the same answer," said Psyonix's vice president Jeremy Dunham in a recent interview. "It's, 'not right now" or, 'it's something we'll consider.' That's paraphrasing, but there hasn't been any movement."
Conversely, the other two companies involved with the studio's efforts to implement cross-play have apparently been quite accommodating. Microsoft only needed around a month to give the green light, whereas Nintendo reportedly gave its blessing on the very same day that Psyonix asked for permission.
Rocket League isn't the only game that's been affected by Sony's inhibitions about cross-play. Minecraft players across the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC will soon be able to build and adventure en masse, but PlayStation 4 owners are being left out of the fun.
At this point, it really doesn't seem like Sony is prepared to budge on the issue, maintaining the perspective that a closed platform is best for business. However, cross-play is a feature that lots of users are interested in, so it may well turn out that popular demand dictates a change of heart sometime in the future.
Rocket League is scheduled to launch for the Nintendo Switch in late 2017.