During Nintendo's E3 2018 splurge yesterday, the battle royale component of Fortnite launched for Nintendo Switch. And just like the smartphone versions of the game, it supports crossplay with PC. In other words, next time you log-in to the game, you'll be able to take out (or be taken out by) Nintendo Switch players.
It's not exactly unexpected: Fortnite supports crossplay between Xbox One, MacOS, iOS and PC, and despite the huge input differences ranging across those platforms, it does a pretty good job. You'll note the conspicuous absence of PS4 from that list, though: players on Sony's platform still cannot play with other console platforms.
Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime alluded to the lack of PS4 crossplay yestserday in an interview with IGN. " “We embrace working with a developer and enabling them to bring their vision to life. And whether that’s Fortnite, whether that’s a number of the other games that have cross-platform play on our console, from a developer standpoint that’s what we want. And we work hard with them to bring that to life.”
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It's an interesting and increasingly confusing time for crossplay functionality. Nintendo is traditionally the most reluctant to play nice with other platform holders, but its willingness to support crossplay in Fortnite and Rocket League is encouraging. Meanwhile, Sony is the last barrier: while PS4 players can compete with PC, iOS and Mac users, the company still appears reluctant to open the gate to their more direct competitors in the Switch and Xbox One.
Whatever the case, if you'd prefer to play against PC players only, that option is still available (as it is across the other platforms).
