Fortnite players who had an Epic account on PS4 and have tried to play the new Nintendo Switch version of the game are reporting that they’ve run into a problem: they’re not allowed to use the same account.
https://kotaku.com/fortnite-goes-live-on-switch-today-1826764426
That’s right, if you have played the game on PlayStation 4—even just once—that’s enough to have got your account locked to that system. It goes the other way too; if you link your Epic account on Switch, you’re locked out on the PlayStation 4.
This is justifiably infuriating for people who have picked up the new Switch version, since they may well have been hoping to play on PS4 while at home but move onto Switch while out and about. Or expecting that a game that’s able to jump between PC, Mac, mobile and Xbox One would do likewise with this latest edition.
.@PlayStation, fix this.
Not allowing me to sign-in to Fortnite Switch with my Epic account because it's linked to PS4 is tone deaf and points more to fear than market dominance.
It does the opposite of what you want — it makes me think about moving to Xbox for Fortnite. pic.twitter.com/D9xqv9aWdF
— Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) June 12, 2018
Of course it doesn’t stop you from playing the game, just using your existing account, but since progress is so important in the game, that’s still a big deal.
As maddening as it is, it’s nothing new for Sony, Epic and Fortnite. The PS4 has taken a lot of flak from everyone, from fans right up to Microsoft executives, for not allowing crossplay between it and the Xbox One, even when its clearly technically possible
Me 2.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 10, 2018
And while this is the latest example of a crossplay roadblock, it’s worth remembering that the same restrictions have been in effect between the Xbox One and PS4 versions for a while. Crossplay between the PS4 and PC/mobile, however, is deemed by Sony to be just fine.
