If you’ve ever logged into Rainbow Six Siege on your PS4 only to realize most of your regular squad is playing on PC, you’ve definitely asked can you cross play rainbow six siege ps4 pc at least once. For years, Ubisoft held off on rolling out full cross platform support for Siege, leaving players stuck only matching with others on the same hardware. That changed a few years back, but there are still a lot of confusing rules and limitations that most players don’t know about before they try to queue with cross platform friends. This guide breaks down exactly how cross play works between PS4 and PC, what restrictions you need to plan for, and how to fix common issues that pop up when you’re trying to play with friends across platforms.
Can You Cross Play Rainbow Six Siege PS4 PC Right Now?
The short answer is yes, full cross play support between PS4 and PC for Rainbow Six Siege is available for all game modes as of 2022, and it’s enabled by default for most players. That means if you have a copy of Siege on PS4 and your friend owns it on PC, you can queue for casual, unranked, custom games, and even ranked together as long as you adjust a few settings first. Cross play between console and PC is not restricted to just next-gen hardware, so even if you’re still using a launch model PS4, you won’t be locked out of playing with PC friends.
The only catch is that ranked cross play between console and PC is turned off by default for console players, to avoid putting controller users at a disadvantage against mouse and keyboard players who have more precise aim. You can toggle this setting on or off at any time in your in-game general settings, so you can choose to play ranked with PC friends or stick to only matching with other console players depending on your preference. Ubisoft also uses input-based matchmaking for all cross play lobbies, so if you hook up a mouse and keyboard to your PS4, you’ll automatically be matched with PC players even if you have cross play disabled for console vs PC matches.
How to Set Up Cross Play Between PS4 and PC for Rainbow Six Siege
Setting up cross play between PS4 and PC is a lot simpler than most players expect, and it only takes a few minutes to get everything connected. The only requirement is that both you and your friend have an active Ubisoft Connect account, which is free to create if you don’t already have one. Follow these steps to get your cross platform party up and running:
- Link your PSN account to your Ubisoft Connect account via the official Ubisoft website or in-game settings on either platform. You only have to do this once, and it will also unlock cross-progression for your account across all platforms.
- Ensure both you and your friend have cross play enabled in your Siege in-game settings under the "General" tab. It’s turned on by default, but if you’ve ever disabled it to avoid matching with PC players, you’ll need to turn it back on to join parties with cross platform friends.
- Search for your friend's exact Ubisoft Connect username in the in-game friends menu, send a friend request, and accept it once it arrives. You won’t be able to find friends via their PSN or Steam usernames, so make sure you have their correct Ubisoft ID before you start searching.
- Create a party, invite your cross-platform friend, and queue for any casual, unranked, or custom game mode you prefer. If you want to play ranked, make sure both of you have cross play for ranked enabled in your settings first.
That’s all you need to do to get connected. If you don’t see your friend’s request pop up right away, give it a minute or two, as Ubisoft’s servers sometimes have a small delay processing cross platform friend requests. Custom games have zero cross play restrictions, so you can even set up private lobbies with 10 friends across PS4 and PC for scrims or casual fun without any extra steps.
Key Limitations of PS4 to PC Cross Play for R6 Siege
While cross play works well for most use cases, there are a few important limitations you should know about before you plan a full squad session across PS4 and PC. First, cross-progression support works for all your in-game stats, rank, battle pass progress, and most cosmetics, but platform-exclusive skins and items won’t carry over between PS4 and PC. For example, if you have a PS4-exclusive Operator skin that was part of a PlayStation Plus promotion, it won’t show up when you log into Siege on PC, and vice versa for Steam-exclusive skins. You also have to own a separate copy of Rainbow Six Siege on each platform you want to play on, so you can’t use your PS4 copy to play on PC even if your accounts are linked.
Another big limitation is the input advantage for PC players. Even with aim assist turned up for controller users, mouse and keyboard players have far more precise aim and faster reaction times, so you might find yourself getting outplayed more often if you’re on PS4 playing against PC players in ranked. That’s why Ubisoft gives console players the option to opt out of cross play for ranked matches, and most casual console players choose to keep it off for competitive play. Cross play voice chat also has a small 1-2 second delay for most cross platform parties, so if you’re relying on in-game voice chat to call out enemy positions, you might find the delay makes it harder to coordinate during fast rounds. Most cross platform squads fix this by using a third party voice chat app instead, which eliminates the delay entirely.
Fixes for Common PS4 to PC Cross Play Issues
Even if you follow all the setup steps correctly, you might run into a few common issues when trying to play cross platform between PS4 and PC. The most common issue is cross platform friend requests not showing up in your in-game friends list. This almost always happens because either your or your friend’s Ubisoft Connect privacy settings are set to block friend requests from non-friends, or you’re searching for the wrong Ubisoft ID. Double check that you’re entering the exact username, including any capital letters or special characters, and that your privacy settings allow incoming friend requests from all users.
Another common issue is being unable to join each other’s party even after you’re friends on Ubisoft Connect. This is almost always caused by one of you having an outdated version of the game, so make sure both you and your friend have installed the latest patch for Siege on your respective platforms. If you’re both on the latest version, try restarting your game and your internet router to reset your connection to Ubisoft’s servers. If you’re experiencing extremely high ping or lag when playing in cross play lobbies, it’s usually because you’re being matched with players in a different region. You can adjust your region settings in the in-game matchmaking tab to only match with players in your local region, which will cut down on ping significantly. If you’re intentionally playing with friends in a different region, you can turn on cross region play to make it easier to join their lobbies, but expect higher ping as a tradeoff.
The last common issue is accidentally being matched with PC players in ranked even if you have cross play turned off. This happens if you’re using a mouse and keyboard on your PS4, as Ubisoft’s input-based matchmaking will automatically put you in lobbies with other mouse and keyboard users, most of whom are on PC. If you want to avoid matching with PC players entirely, stick to using a controller on your PS4 and keep cross play disabled in your ranked settings.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you cross play rainbow six siege ps4 pc is a clear yes, as long as you follow the simple setup steps and account for the small limitations that come with cross platform play. I’ve been playing cross platform with my group of PC and PS4 friends for over a year now, and the only consistent issue we run into is the in-game voice chat delay, which we fixed years ago by switching to Discord for all our squad calls. You don’t have to miss out on playing with your friends just because you’re on different hardware, and the small tradeoffs are more than worth it to get to squad up with people you enjoy playing with, no matter what platform they’re on. If you run into any issues we didn’t cover here, try checking the official Ubisoft support page for the latest updates on cross play outages or known bugs.
