Microsoft has confirmed it is "talking to Sony" about crossplay.
The two gaming giants - who produce the Xbox and PlayStation consoles respectively - have been at loggerheads when it comes to the possibility of each console's users being able to play online with users of the opposing console, and Microsoft marketing manager Aaron Greenberg has now said they are "absolutely" discussing the move with Sony.
He told GameReactor.com: "We're talking to Sony [about crossplay]. We do partner with them on Minecraft and of course we would like to enable them to be part of that; one community, to unite gamers. So we're talking to them and we're hopeful that they'll be supportive of it."
Aaron's comments are the latest in a long line of statements from Microsoft on the matter, as they claim Sony are unwilling to compromise with them on the idea of cross platform compatibility.
Xbox's Dave McCarthy said earlier this year that despite Microsoft teaming up for the move with Nintendo on their new Nintendo Switch console, Sony are not in "support" of the idea.
He said: "Quite frankly, we'd love to have Sony there. We discussed it. They're not quite there yet [laughs] on support for that. But my hope is that they join the party as well because I think it's an awesome thing to do for gamers."
Meanwhile, Sony have said their decision to stay away from crossplay gaming is largely due to the safety of their users - particularly when it comes to the young demographic of 'Minecraft' users - as they cannot control "external influences" from other platforms.
PlayStation executive Jim Ryan said: "We've got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. 'Minecraft' - the demographic playing that, you know as well as I do, it's all ages but it's also very young. We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it's something we have to think about very carefully."
