If you’ve ever logged on to Overwatch ready to queue for a quick play match only to realize your friend is on a different platform, you’ve probably asked can you play crossplay on Overwatch at least once. I’ve been there too – a couple years back I switched from PC to PlayStation for casual late-night play, and I spent 20 minutes digging through settings trying to figure out if I could still queue with my old PC squad. Most guides online either skip over small but important details or give outdated advice, so I put together this breakdown based on hundreds of cross-play matches across every supported platform. It covers everything you need to know, from eligible platforms to hidden restrictions that can mess up your queue time, no endless menu scrolling required.
Can You Play Crossplay on Overwatch for All Platform Combinations?
The short answer is yes, crossplay works for almost every platform combination the game supports, including PC (both Steam and Battle.net versions), PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. You can queue for nearly every game mode with friends no matter what device they use, as long as you all have a valid Battle.net account linked. Crossplay is enabled by default for all new accounts, so you won’t have to toggle any settings to use it when you first download the game.
For example, if you’re on Nintendo Switch playing with a friend on Steam, you can queue for any casual game mode together without any extra steps, as long as both of you have crossplay enabled. The only exception to this rule is for region-locked accounts, though that setting is disabled by default for most users. If you have manually set a region lock for competitive play, you’ll only match with players in your region, even if crossplay is turned on.
Console players also have an extra toggle to opt out of matching with PC players specifically, which was added to address complaints about keyboard and mouse users having a natural advantage over controller players. If you turn this setting off, you’ll still be able to play with friends on other consoles, but you won’t be matched with random PC players in public queues.
How to Enable Crossplay and Join Cross-Platform Parties
Crossplay works automatically for public queues, but joining a cross-platform party requires a few simple steps to set up first. All crossplay functionality requires a linked Battle.net account, even if you only play on console and never touch PC. If you haven’t linked your account yet, you can do so in the Overwatch settings menu by following the prompts to log in to or create a Battle.net account.
Once your account is linked, adding cross-platform friends works a little differently than adding friends on your native console platform. You don’t use their Xbox gamertag or PlayStation ID to find them – you have to search for their full Battle.net tag, including the 4-digit number at the end. If you don’t know your own Battle.net tag, you can find it in the top right corner of your Overwatch main menu, right next to your profile icon.
To join or create a cross-platform party, follow these simple steps:
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had friends message me saying they can’t find each other online, only to realize one of them was searching for the Xbox gamertag instead of the Battle.net tag. It’s an easy mistake to make, especially if you’re used to playing other console games that use native platform friend lists. If you still can’t see your friend’s request after double checking the tag, make sure both of you have cross-party invites enabled in your privacy settings.
Key Crossplay Restrictions You Need to Know Before Queuing
While crossplay works for most use cases, there are a few small restrictions that can cause frustration if you don’t know about them ahead of time. Crossplay does not automatically mean cross-progression for all in-game items, for example. If you earned platform-exclusive skins on your PlayStation account before you linked your Battle.net account, those skins won’t transfer over to PC or Switch, even after you link. All skins earned after linking will be available across all your devices, though, so it’s still worth linking your account as soon as possible.
Competitive mode has a few extra crossplay rules too. If you queue as a mixed party of PC and console players, you will automatically be placed in the PC competitive pool, even if the console players have crossplay with PC turned off for solo queues. That means console players in mixed parties will be matched against keyboard and mouse users, so make sure everyone in your group is okay with that before you queue for competitive.
Another common restriction is for competitive top 500 leaderboards. Top 500 rankings are split by platform, so even if you play crossplay, you won’t appear on the PC leaderboard if you’re a console player, and vice versa. That means you don’t have to worry about competing against keyboard and mouse players for a spot on your console’s top 500 list, even if you leave crossplay enabled for casual matches. Voice chat works across all platforms as long as you have it enabled in your settings, though you may need to adjust your input device if you’re on console using a third-party headset.
Is Turning Off Crossplay Right for You?
Most players will be fine leaving crossplay enabled, but there are a few cases where turning it off makes sense. If you’re a console player who only plays with controller and hates going up against keyboard and mouse players who have faster reaction times and more precise aim, turning off crossplay with PC will make your matches feel much more fair. Your queue times might be a little longer during off-peak hours, but the tradeoff is worth it for most casual console players.
Crossplay has no impact on your competitive rank unless you're queuing with players of much higher or lower rank than you, which is standard for all matches regardless of platform. If you’re a console player grinding for top 500, you can leave crossplay enabled for casual matches and turn it off only for competitive queues, so you still get the benefit of playing with friends on other platforms when you’re not climbing the ranks.
If you’re a PC player, turning off crossplay has almost no downside, other than slightly longer queue times during off-peak hours. Most PC players already play with keyboard and mouse, so you won’t notice much of a difference in match difficulty either way. But if you’re a parent letting your kid play on console, turning off crossplay can also make it easier to control who they interact with online, since you can restrict friend requests to only people they know on their console’s friend list. I play on both PC and Switch, and I leave crossplay on for Switch when I'm playing casual, but turn it off for competitive so I don't get matched against PC players who can flick shot way faster than I can on a joycon.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play crossplay on Overwatch is a resounding yes, with very few caveats that are easy to work around once you know what to look for. Whether you're hopping on for a quick casual match with friends across different platforms or grinding competitive ranks with your squad, crossplay makes it easier than ever to play with the people you want, no matter what device they use. Just remember to double check your account links and privacy settings before you queue, and you'll be in a match in no time.