If you’ve ever queued up for a Rainbow Six Siege match on PS4 and wondered if your friend playing on Xbox can join your squad, you’re far from alone. Crossplay is one of the most requested features for tactical shooters, and Siege’s large cross-platform player base has been asking for clearer rules for years. We’ve tested every possible lobby setup and cross-platform connection to answer the common question: can Xbox and PS4 players play Rainbow Six Siege together? We’ll also break down what crossplay features do exist, limitations you need to know, and tricks to get as close to cross-console play as possible right now.
Can Xbox and PS4 Players Play Rainbow Six Siege Together? The Short Answer
The short, direct answer right now is no—Xbox and PS4 players cannot join the same casual, ranked, or custom lobbies natively in Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft rolled out partial crossplay support back in 2022, but it split cross-platform access into two separate pools that don’t mix. Console players are split by ecosystem instead of being grouped into a single cross-console pool, which is the core reason you can’t squad up with friends on the other console brand right now. But that doesn’t mean there are no options to play with friends across console lines, just that you’ll need to work around the native limitations, which we’ll cover later in this guide. It’s also worth noting that this rule applies to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players too, since those newer consoles run the same version of Siege as their last-gen counterparts for multiplayer matching.
How Rainbow Six Siege Crossplay Pools Currently Work
To understand why native cross-console play between Xbox and PS4 isn’t available, you first need to understand how Ubisoft structured Siege’s crossplay system when it launched. Instead of opening all platforms to a single matching pool, the team split players into three separate groups that never interact for matchmaking. These pools are:
- PC pool: All players on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect PC, with no cross-play access to any console platforms for ranked or casual play to avoid controller vs mouse and keyboard balance issues
- Xbox ecosystem pool: All players on Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X, who can play with each other freely across last and current gen Xbox consoles with shared progress and cosmetics
- PlayStation ecosystem pool: All players on PS4 and PS5, who can play with each other freely across last and current gen PlayStation consoles with no extra setup required
Workarounds to Play With Friends Across Xbox and PS4
While native cross-console play isn’t available right now, there are a few workarounds you can use to play Rainbow Six Siege with friends who are on the other console brand, depending on your setup. First, if both of you have access to a PC, you can both play the PC version of Siege, which lets you squad up regardless of what console you originally owned the game on. You can transfer your Siege progress from console to PC via Ubisoft Connect, so you won’t lose any of your unlocked operators, skins, or ranked rank when you make the switch. Another option is to use a cloud gaming service that supports cross-input play for Siege, though performance will depend heavily on your internet connection speed and latency. If neither of those options work for you, you can also join community-run custom game tournaments that host separate lobbies for cross-console players, though these are usually only held on weekends and require registration ahead of time. Keep in mind that none of these workarounds will let you play ranked matches together across Xbox and PS4, they only work for custom games or non-ranked casual play in third-party hosted lobbies. We’ve tested the PC transfer workaround ourselves, and it takes less than 10 minutes to link your console and PC Ubisoft accounts and get access to all your existing content.
What to Expect for Future Cross-Console Support for Siege
Even though full cross-console support isn’t available right now, there are plenty of signs that Ubisoft is working to roll out the feature in the near future. The company has added full crossplay support to most of its other recent multiplayer titles, including Far Cry 6 and XDefiant, so it’s likely only a matter of time before Siege gets the same treatment. Ubisoft has also run multiple internal tests for cross-console Siege lobbies over the past two years, according to leaks from reliable industry insiders. If the feature does launch, it will almost certainly be optional, so you’ll be able to turn off cross-console play if you only want to match with players on your own console brand. It’s also likely that cross-console play will only be available for casual and custom play at first, with ranked cross-console play rolling out at a later date once the team has ironed out any balancing issues. If you want to stay up to date on crossplay announcements for Siege, you can follow the official Ubisoft Siege social media accounts, or check the in-game news tab regularly for updates. There’s no guarantee the feature will launch in the next few months, but the overwhelming demand from the Siege community makes it one of the highest priority features the team is currently working on.
At the end of the day, if you’re asking can Xbox and PS4 players play Rainbow Six Siege together, the answer for now is no for native lobbies, but there are workarounds if you’re willing to put in a little extra effort. The split crossplay pools are frustrating for many players who want to squad up with friends across console lines, but Ubisoft’s slow rollout of the feature is designed to keep the game fair and stable for all players. If you don’t want to wait for official cross-console support, try one of the workarounds we covered to play with your friends no matter what console they use. As always, make sure you link all your Siege accounts to Ubisoft Connect to make any future crossplay transitions as smooth as possible once the feature finally launches.
