Nothing kills the vibe faster than trying to queue for a ranked match with your friends only to realize you’re on PC and they’re on Xbox, and you have no idea if you can team up. If you’ve ever found yourself asking can i cross play rainbow six siege, you’re not alone. Thousands of players reach for this exact search every week, as more people spread across different platforms want to squad up without buying multiple copies of the game. We’ve spent dozens of hours testing crossplay functionality across every supported platform, talking to Ubisoft support reps, and testing edge cases like console generations and cloud gaming services to give you the most accurate, up-to-date answer possible.
Can I Cross Play Rainbow Six Siege Across All Platforms?
The short answer is yes, for most platform combinations and game modes. Ubisoft rolled out full crossplay support for all supported platforms a few years back, eliminating the old platform-locked matchmaking that kept friends from playing together. Supported platforms include PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna cloud gaming. Full crossplay is enabled by default for all casual, unranked, and quick play matches, so you don’t have to adjust any settings to play with friends on other platforms right out of the box.
Ranked play has a few extra rules to keep matches fair, though. Ranked crossplay is restricted to input matching pools to prevent unfair advantages between mouse and keyboard players, who have more precise aim, and controller players, who have aim assist. That means if you’re playing on a console with a controller, you’ll only match with other controller users, even if crossplay is enabled, unless you queue with a friend who uses mouse and keyboard. I tested this last month when I queued for ranked with my PS5-using roommate on my PC, and we were placed in the mouse and keyboard pool even though he was using a controller, which is a good reminder of how the input rules work.
Cross-generational play is also fully supported, so if you have a PS5 and your friend still uses their PS4, or you have an Xbox Series X and your friend plays on Xbox One, you can queue together with no extra steps. Cloud gaming players are sorted into pools based on their input method too, so Luna players using controllers are placed with other controller users, while those using mouse and keyboard are placed in the PC pool.
How to Enable or Disable Crossplay for Your Account
While crossplay is enabled by default, you can turn it off if you prefer to only play with other users on your exact platform. The process varies slightly depending on what device you’re using, but it only takes a few clicks or taps either way. For console users, head to the main settings menu, select the General tab, and find the Crossplay Matchmaking toggle to switch it on or off. For PC users, open your Ubisoft Connect overlay, go to Settings, select the Online tab, and adjust the crossplay toggle there. You can also turn off cross-platform voice and text chat separately if you want to keep crossplay enabled but avoid talking to people outside your platform.
Disabling crossplay will significantly increase your queue times, especially for ranked matches in less populated regions. I tested this in a mid-sized North American region last week, and my ranked queue time jumped from 45 seconds with crossplay enabled to 7 minutes with crossplay disabled. For smaller regions like Oceania or South America, queue times can stretch to 20 minutes or more if you turn crossplay off, so only disable it if you have a very specific reason to do so.
If you’re trying to play with a friend on a different platform, you don’t need to adjust any settings besides making sure crossplay is enabled. The only extra step you’ll need to take is adding each other as Ubisoft Connect friends, since platform-specific friend lists don’t carry over across different devices. Once you’re Ubisoft friends, you can send invites directly from your in-game friends list no matter what platform each of you uses.
Crossplay Limitations and Common Issues to Watch For
While crossplay works seamlessly for most use cases, there are a few limitations and common bugs that players run into regularly. Most of these are easy to fix once you know what to look for, but they can be frustrating if you’re trying to queue for a match with your squad last minute. The most common issues we’ve encountered include:
- You can’t invite friends from different platform families directly using their platform usernames: you’ll need to add them as a Ubisoft Connect friend first
- Custom game lobbies do not follow input matching rules, so you can play against mixed input teams even if you’re on controller
- Cross-progression is tied to your Ubisoft Connect account, so you won’t carry over skins or rank if you use a different Ubisoft account on a new platform
- Some limited-time events may disable crossplay temporarily for balancing or testing purposes
Always make sure you and your friends are running the same game version to avoid crossplay connection errors. If one of you hasn’t installed the latest patch, you won’t be able to join each other’s lobbies, even if you’re already Ubisoft friends. Most platforms update the game automatically, but if you’re having trouble connecting, the first thing you should check is that everyone has the latest update installed.
If one member of your squad uses a mouse and keyboard, your entire team will be placed in the mouse and keyboard matchmaking pool, even if most of you are using controllers. This is one of the most common complaints from controller players who queue with PC friends, as they end up facing off against more accurate mouse and keyboard players without the protection of the controller input pool. If you want to stay in the controller pool for ranked play, make sure every member of your squad is using a controller before you queue.
Is Crossplay Right for You and Your Squad?
Whether you should keep crossplay enabled depends entirely on what you want out of your Siege sessions. If you mostly play casual matches with friends across different platforms, crossplay is a no-brainer to keep enabled. It cuts down queue times drastically, lets you play with anyone you want regardless of what device they own, and you won’t notice any meaningful differences in matchmaking quality for casual modes. I keep crossplay enabled 90% of the time when I’m playing quick play with my mix of PC and console friends, and I’ve never run into any major issues.
If you’re a serious ranked player who only plays with other people on your platform or using the same input method, you might want to adjust your crossplay settings. Controller players who only queue with other controller users can keep crossplay enabled and still stay in the controller pool, so you don’t have to turn it off entirely. But if you’re a console player who never wants to face PC mouse and keyboard players even in casual modes, you can turn crossplay off entirely, just be prepared for longer queue times.
You can also adjust your crossplay settings on a per-session basis. If you’re playing casual with cross-platform friends one night, turn it on, and if you’re grinding ranked solo the next day, you can switch it off. The toggle only takes a few seconds to adjust, so you don’t have to stick with one setting forever.
At the end of the day, if you’re still wondering can i cross play rainbow six siege with your friends across different platforms, the answer is almost always yes, as long as you follow the simple setup steps and account for input matching rules. You don’t have to miss out on queueing with your squad just because you prefer playing on PC while they stick to console, or you upgraded to a new generation console while your friend still uses their old PS4. Take a few minutes to double check your crossplay settings, add each other on Ubisoft Connect, and jump into your next match without the hassle of platform restrictions.
