If you’ve ever hopped on Overwatch 2 on your PS5 while your best friend grinds on PC, you’ve probably asked: can you play crossplay competitive Overwatch 2? Most casual game modes work seamlessly across platforms, but ranked play has a lot more fine print that Blizzard doesn’t advertise upfront. I’ve spent the last year bouncing between console and PC ranked lobbies, so I’ve tested every edge case of crossplay competitive queues to break down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid common mistakes that lock you out of ranked play with friends.
Can You Play Crossplay Competitive Overwatch 2? Official Rules Breakdown
The short answer is yes, but only if all players in your party are using the same input type, or you adjust your console settings to opt in to cross-input queues. Blizzard rolled out this rule back when crossplay first launched to stop PC mouse and keyboard players from having an unfair advantage over controller users on console. For example, if you’re a controller player on Xbox, you can queue with a controller player on PC with no issues.
But if you’re a mouse and keyboard player on PC, you can’t queue with a controller player on PS5 for competitive play unless the console user turns off input-based matchmaking. It’s also worth noting that crossplay competitive is disabled for the Top 500 leaderboard across all regions, no matter your input type. That rule is in place to keep leaderboard rankings fair for each platform’s player base, and there’s no workaround for it right now. If you try to queue for Top 500 with cross-platform friends, you’ll get an error message immediately, even if all of you are on the same input type.
Key Restrictions for Crossplay Competitive Overwatch 2 Queues
Before you try to queue for crossplay competitive with your friends, there are a few non-negotiable restrictions you need to keep in mind to avoid being locked out of the lobby. I’ve run into every single one of these at least once when trying to play with my cross-platform friend group, so these are all tested and confirmed:
Another thing most players miss is that if one player in your party has a competitive ban or restriction, the entire group will be locked out of crossplay competitive queues, even if everyone else has a clean account. That means if your friend got a 24-hour ban for leaving too many games, you’ll have to wait until their restriction is up to queue together. I learned this the hard way a few months back when my roommate’s temporary ban kept our whole group from playing ranked for a whole weekend.
Pros and Cons of Playing Crossplay Competitive Overwatch 2
Most players only think about the ability to play with friends when they consider crossplay competitive, but there are other perks and downsides you should weigh before you opt in. On the plus side, crossplay queues are significantly faster than same-platform queues for most ranks, especially in off-peak hours. I live in a smaller region, and my average queue time for support dropped from 8 minutes to 2 minutes when I opted in to crossplay competitive last year. You also get to play against a wider variety of players, which can help you improve faster than if you only play against the same small pool of local players.
But there are downsides too. Even with input-based matchmaking, a lot of PC controller players have higher frame rates and lower input lag than console controller players, which can give them a small but noticeable advantage. You also won’t be eligible for platform-specific Top 500 ranks if you opt in to cross-input play, which is a big downside if you’re gunning for a leaderboard spot at the end of the season. If you’re a more casual competitive player who just wants to play with friends, the pros almost always outweigh the cons, but if you’re a serious player chasing high ranks, you might want to stick to same-platform queues.
Tips to Avoid Common Crossplay Competitive Issues
After months of troubleshooting crossplay competitive lobbies with my friend group, I’ve picked up a few tricks that will save you a lot of time and frustration. First, always confirm everyone’s input settings before you queue up – it only takes 30 seconds to check, and it will stop you from getting that annoying incompatible party error right as you’re about to start. I also recommend setting your party privacy to friends only if you’re queuing with cross-platform players, to avoid randoms joining your lobby who don’t have the right settings enabled.
If you’re a console player queuing with PC friends, I strongly recommend using a wired internet connection to cut down on input lag as much as possible. The difference between a wired and wireless connection is night and day when you’re playing against PC players with faster hardware. If you run into an error that says crossplay is disabled even though you have it turned on, try restarting your game and your router – that fixes 90% of crossplay connection issues I’ve run into. And if you still can’t queue, double check that all players in your party have unlocked competitive play first – new players have to win 50 quick play games before they can access ranked, even if they’re playing with higher level friends.
One last tip: if you’re a controller player opting in to cross-input queues, take 10 minutes to adjust your aim settings to match the faster pace of PC lobbies. I found that bumping my aim assist strength down 10% helped me keep up with faster moving PC players far better than sticking with my default console settings.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play crossplay competitive Overwatch 2 depends almost entirely on your party’s input types and settings. As long as you follow the input matching rules, stay within the rank gap limit, and adjust your settings if you’re a console player playing with PC friends, you can easily queue for ranked with your cross-platform crew. Just remember to weigh the pros and cons before you opt in to cross-input play, especially if you’re chasing high ranks this season. With a little prep, you can avoid most common issues and get straight to climbing the ranks with your friends, no matter what platform they play on.