If you’ve ever wanted to squad up with your friend who owns an Xbox while you’re playing on PC, you’ve probably asked: can Xbox and PC play together on Rainbow Six Siege? For years, crossplay was a highly requested feature across the R6 community, as players were stuck only matching with others on the same hardware. Ubisoft has rolled out a series of updates over the past few years to expand cross-platform support, but there are still a few caveats you need to know before you send that squad invite. We’ve tested crossplay between Xbox and PC extensively over dozens of matches, so we’re breaking down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to set up your matches without frustrating errors.
Can Xbox and PC Play Together on Rainbow Six Siege for All Game Modes?
The short answer is yes, but support varies depending on what type of match you’re trying to play. Casual and Unranked matches fully support crossplay between Xbox and PC, so you can squad up with friends across either platform without jumping through extra hoops. All ranked playlists are currently segregated by input type, not platform, so Xbox players using a controller will only match with other controller users, including those on PC who are playing with a controller. If you’re on PC using mouse and keyboard, you won’t be able to match with Xbox players even if you queue together, as the game will automatically sort you into the mouse and keyboard ranked pool. That also means you can’t play ranked matches with friends if one of you is using a controller on Xbox and the other is using mouse and keyboard on PC.
Custom game lobbies have no crossplay restrictions at all, so you can set up private matches with any mix of platforms and input types for scrims or casual fun with friends. It’s also worth noting that crossplay is enabled by default for all players, but you can turn it off in your settings if you only want to match with other players on the same platform as you. A lot of players choose to turn it off to avoid playing against mouse and keyboard users when they’re on controller, which is a completely valid option if you prioritize fairer input matchups over playing with cross-platform friends.
How to Set Up Crossplay Between Xbox and PC for R6 Siege
Setting up crossplay between Xbox and PC is straightforward, but there are a few small steps you need to complete first to make sure your accounts are linked correctly. We’ve found that most matchmaking errors happen when players skip one of these steps, so follow them closely to avoid issues:
- Link your Ubisoft Connect account to both your Xbox profile and your PC R6 Siege account first. You can do this through the Ubisoft Connect website or directly in the game settings on either platform.
- Make sure both you and your friend have crossplay enabled in your in-game settings. You can find this option under the “General” tab of the settings menu, labeled “Crossplay Matchmaking.”
- Search for your friend’s Ubisoft Connect username in the in-game friends list, not their Xbox gamertag or Steam username. Sending invites via Ubisoft Connect is the only reliable way to join cross-platform squads.
- If you’re playing ranked, confirm that all players in your squad are using the same input type (either all controller or all mouse and keyboard) to avoid being blocked from queuing.
If you still can’t find your friend in the search menu, make sure both of you have your Ubisoft Connect profile set to public, or send a friend request via the Ubisoft Connect desktop or mobile app first. We’ve run into this issue multiple times when friends had private profiles, so it’s a quick fix for most connection problems. Once you’re in a squad together, the game will automatically adjust matchmaking pools based on your input types, so you don’t have to do any extra work after that. You can queue for matches the same way you would if you were playing with friends on the same platform.
Cross-Progression Rules for Xbox and PC R6 Siege Players
A lot of players who play on both Xbox and PC want to know if their progress carries over between platforms, and the good news is Ubisoft added full cross-progression for all platforms a few years back. All your unlocked operators, skins, battle pass progress, rank stats, and in-game currency are tied to your Ubisoft Connect account, so you can access them on any platform you log into. That means if you grind for a new Ash skin on your Xbox, you can use it the next time you log into R6 on your PC without having to unlock it again. It’s a huge quality of life feature for players who swap between platforms depending on where their friends are playing, or who prefer to play casual matches on console and ranked on PC.
There are a few exceptions, though. Any platform-exclusive skins you earn from Xbox promotions will only be available when you’re playing on Xbox, even if you’re logged into the same Ubisoft account. You also can’t transfer any R6 credits you purchased directly on Xbox to PC, though any credits you buy through Ubisoft Connect will be available across all platforms. It’s also important to note that your rank is separate per input type, not per platform. So if you’re a Platinum rank controller player on Xbox, you’ll have the same Platinum rank when you play with a controller on PC, but you’ll have a separate rank if you switch to mouse and keyboard on either platform. That’s a common point of confusion for new crossplay users, so it’s worth keeping in mind if you swap between input types often.
Common Crossplay Issues Between Xbox and PC (And How to Fix Them)
Even with Ubisoft’s updates, crossplay between Xbox and PC still has a few common bugs that pop up from time to time. We’ve dealt with all of these ourselves during squad sessions, so we have tested fixes for each one. The most common issue is lag or high ping when playing with cross-platform friends. If you notice higher than normal ping in crossplay matches, make sure all squad members have their region set to the same location in the matchmaking settings, as the game will default to the host’s region if you don’t adjust this first. We once had a squad where one friend was set to the EU region while the rest of us were in North America, and we all had 150+ ping until we fixed his region setting.
Another common issue is being unable to join a squad even if you’re already friends on Ubisoft Connect. This usually happens when one player has an outdated version of the game, so make sure both you and your friend have installed the latest patch on your respective platforms. Ubisoft rolls out small hotfixes every couple of weeks, so it’s easy to miss an update if you don’t play every day. If you’re getting a “crossplay disabled” error when you try to queue, double check that crossplay is enabled in both your in-game settings and your Xbox privacy settings. Xbox has a separate crossplay permission setting in the account privacy menu, so if that’s turned off, you won’t be able to join cross-platform squads even if you have it enabled in R6. We’ve had multiple friends run into this exact issue, so it’s always the first thing we check when someone can’t join the squad. One last thing to keep in mind: if you’re playing against PC players on Xbox, you may notice some players have faster reaction times if they’re using mouse and keyboard, but the input-based matchmaking means you’ll only run into mouse and keyboard users in casual or unranked play, not ranked. If you don’t want to play against mouse and keyboard users at all, you can turn off crossplay entirely to only match with other Xbox controller players.
At the end of the day, there’s a lot of flexibility for players who want to squad up across hardware, and the answer to can Xbox and PC play together on Rainbow Six Siege is a resounding yes for most play modes. As long as you follow the setup steps, check your input types if you’re playing ranked, and troubleshoot the small common issues that pop up, you can enjoy hours of matches with friends no matter what platform they play on. Ubisoft continues to refine crossplay support with every new patch, so we expect even fewer issues and more features for cross-platform players in the coming updates. Don’t let different hardware stop you from playing with your friends – grab your squad, queue up, and have fun.
