Elder Scrolls Legends Could Skip PS4 Because of Sony’s Opposition to Cross-Play
Elder Scrolls Legends is the free-to-play Elder Scrolls card game released on PC and mobile devices in 2017. The game was published by Bethesda, and is currently developed by Sparkypants Studios after a recent shakeup where the game was removed from the original developers; Dire Wolf Digital. Bethesda is planning to bring the game to consoles at some point in the future, but recent comments from Pete Hines suggest the company might well skip a PlayStation 4 release.
Elder Scrolls Legends’ Console Release
Bethesda’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Pete Hines recently spoke to Game Informer about Bethesda’s future plans for The Elder Scrolls Legends. During the interview, Hines stated that the game’s console version will only release on platforms which permit cross-play. Bethesda is angling to market the game as a portable experience which players can play on any device, using the same profile. As a result, the company won’t put the game on a platform which doesn’t allow that. Hines described the feature as “essentially non-negotiable”.
Sony is currently, and has been historically, against the notion of cross-play. They have refused to enable cross-play on numerous occasions. Just last month, Bethesda director Todd Howard stated that he had wanted to include cross-play in Fallout 76. However, he was unable to get it because Sony refused to allow it on their platform.
Among their various reasons, Sony has one obvious and strong incentive to oppose cross-play; gamers tend to consider what platforms their friends have when they buy their own consoles. As the best-selling console on the current market, gamers are more likely to know people with PlayStation 4s than they are other consoles. As such, they become more likely to buy one themselves. If Sony allows cross-play, it no longer matters which consoles gamers have, and the company loses that advantage. However, that market advantage has to be balanced against fan support for cross-play, and that support is growing more and more vocal.