If you’re an Xbox Siege main whose closest gaming buddy only plays on PC, you’ve definitely asked can xbox and pc players play rainbow six siege together at least once. I’ve been in that exact spot a couple years back, when my college roommate switched from console to PC mid-semester, and we spent nearly an hour fumbling through settings just to queue for a casual match together. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about crossplay between the two platforms, from setup steps to unlisted limitations you won’t find on official support pages.
Can Xbox and PC Players Play Rainbow Six Siege Together? Official Crossplay Rules
The short answer is yes, full crossplay support between Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC launched back in 2022, and it’s enabled by default for most new players. But there are a few key exceptions you need to know before you try to queue with your cross-platform friends.
First, crossplay only works between players on the same version of the game. If you’re playing the old-generation Xbox One version on your Series X via backward compatibility, you won’t be able to match with PC players running the current native build. You’ll need to download the optimized Xbox Series X/S version of Siege to connect properly. Second, ranked crossplay between Xbox and PC is optional as of the latest patch. Ubisoft added this setting after years of community feedback that controller players were at a consistent disadvantage against mouse and keyboard users in high-skill ranked lobbies. So if you have ranked crossplay turned off, you’ll only match with other console players even if your general crossplay setting is switched on.
I tested this firsthand last month when I tried to queue for a platinum ranked match with my PC-using cousin, and we got a persistent mismatch error until I turned on ranked crossplay in my Xbox account settings. It’s a small toggle that a lot of players miss, so double check it first if you run into issues.
Step-by-Step Setup to Play Rainbow Six Siege Across Xbox and PC
Setting up crossplay takes less than five minutes, as long as both you and your friend have linked your active Ubisoft Connect accounts. If you’ve been waiting to play Rainbow Six Siege with friends across Xbox and PC, these steps will get you into a lobby in no time:
- For Xbox players: Open Siege, head to the Options menu, select the General tab, and confirm crossplay is toggled to "On". Double-check that your Ubisoft account is linked to your Xbox profile — you can verify this in the Account tab of the in-game settings.
- For PC players: Launch Siege via Ubisoft Connect or Steam, go to Options > General, and make sure crossplay is enabled. If you play via Steam, you’ll need to link your Steam account to your Ubisoft Connect account the first time you launch the game.
- Once both settings are enabled, search for your friend’s Ubisoft Connect username in the in-game friends list, send a friend request, and once accepted, you can invite them to your lobby to queue for any game mode.
That’s the whole process, but there’s one common mistake a lot of people make. If you’ve hidden your Ubisoft profile from search results, your friend won’t be able to find you even if you type your username correctly. You can fix this by going to your Ubisoft Connect account settings and toggling "profile search visibility" to public. I’ve had this happen three times with random teammates I met in casual lobbies, so it’s an easy fix most people overlook.
Key Limitations of Xbox and PC Crossplay for Rainbow Six Siege
Crossplay works great for most use cases, but there are a few limitations that Ubisoft hasn’t addressed yet, and they can ruin your play session if you don’t know about them ahead of time. Most of these issues are minor, and don’t take away from how fun it is to play Rainbow Six Siege with friends across Xbox and PC, but they’re worth noting.
First, cross-progression is tied entirely to your Ubisoft Connect account, not your platform account. That means if you started playing Siege on Xbox before you linked your Ubisoft account, none of your existing operators, skins, or rank progress will carry over to PC. I learned this the hard way when I bought Siege on PC last year, and lost access to all my rare Black Ice skins I’d unlocked on Xbox over 6 years of play. So if you plan to switch between platforms regularly, make sure you link your accounts before you start earning progress on either.
Second, custom game lobbies have a few crossplay restrictions. If you’re hosting a custom game on Xbox, you can’t adjust PC-specific settings like field of view sliders for your PC guests, and some custom game modes that use modded maps are only available for PC players, so Xbox players won’t be able to join those lobbies at all. Third, voice chat sometimes cuts out between Xbox and PC players. This is a known bug that Ubisoft has been working on for months, and the most reliable fix right now is to use a third-party voice chat app instead of the in-game voice chat.
Tips to Improve Your Crossplay Experience Between Xbox and PC
Even with the small limitations, there are a few simple tweaks you can make to have a way better time playing with friends across platforms. These are tricks I’ve picked up running a mixed Xbox and PC stack for casual scrims over the past year, and they’ve helped us win way more matches than we lose.
First, if you’re an Xbox player playing against PC opponents, you can turn on input-based matchmaking in your settings to only match with other controller players, even if crossplay is enabled. This evens the playing field a lot, especially if you’re not used to going up against mouse and keyboard players who have faster aim reaction times. Second, make sure both you and your PC friends are running the latest game patch. Crossplay doesn’t work if one player is on an older version of the game, so enable auto-updates on both platforms to avoid missing patches.
Third, if you’re playing ranked, talk to your team about what roles you want to pick before the match starts. PC players often have faster reaction times so they’re great at playing entry fraggers like Ash or Sledge, while Xbox controller players often have more stable aim for holding angles as defenders like Smoke or Jäger. You don’t have to stick to this split, but it’s a good starting point if you’re new to playing with a cross-platform team.
At the end of the day, the answer to can xbox and pc players play rainbow six siege together is a resounding yes, as long as you follow the simple setup steps and account for the small limitations. It’s opened up so many opportunities to play with friends I would have never been able to queue with before, and even with the occasional bug, it’s one of the best features Ubisoft has added to Siege in years. If you run into any issues getting crossplay to work, double check your crossplay toggle and Ubisoft account link first — 9 times out of 10, that’s all you need to fix to get back in the game.
