If you’ve ever tried to queue for a ranked match with friends who game on different systems, you’ve probably asked can you crossplay on Rainbow Six Siege at least once. For years, Ubisoft limited cross-platform play for the tactical shooter, leaving many groups stuck splitting lobbies or switching devices just to play together. Cross-platform play has been one of the most requested features for R6 since it launched, and Ubisoft has rolled out incremental support over the last three years. I’ve tested crossplay across every supported platform over the last two years, from PC to last-gen consoles, and I’m breaking down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to get your group into a match as fast as possible.
Can You Crossplay on Rainbow Six Siege Across All Platforms?
The short answer is yes, but only within specific platform pools that Ubisoft has set up to keep competitive play fair. R6 crossplay pools are split to avoid putting controller players at a disadvantage against mouse and keyboard users, which is a common policy for high-skill tactical shooters. This split hasn’t changed in the last two years, and Ubisoft has given no indication they plan to merge pools anytime soon.
Console players on PlayStation and Xbox can queue together in all casual, ranked, and event game modes with no extra setup needed. This includes both last-gen (PS4, Xbox One) and current-gen (PS5, Xbox Series X/S) consoles, so even if some of your friends haven’t upgraded their systems yet, you can still play together. Cloud gaming services that stream the console version of the game also fall into this pool, so you can join console lobbies if you’re playing via a supported cloud platform.
PC players can crossplay across all PC launchers, including Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect, but cannot join console lobbies at this time. If you play on PC, you can queue with any other PC player no matter where they bought the game, and your progress will sync across all PC launchers as long as you use the same Ubisoft account. Cloud gaming services that stream the PC version of the game fall into this pool, so you’ll be matched with other PC players if you stream the PC build.
There is no crossplay support for mobile versions of Rainbow Six Siege at this time, as the mobile game is a separate title with different mechanics and player pools.
How to Enable Crossplay for Your Rainbow Six Siege Account
Crossplay is enabled by default for all new Rainbow Six Siege accounts, but if you turned it off in the past to avoid playing against players on other systems, it’s easy to turn back on. The setting is the same across all platforms, so you can follow the same steps no matter what device you use.
First, open the main menu and click the settings cog icon in the top right corner. Navigate to the “General” tab, then scroll down until you see the crossplay toggle option. Switch it to “On”, then save your settings and exit the menu. You don’t need to restart your game for the change to take effect, though you may need to rejoin your party if you were already in a group with friends.
If you’re playing on a new console generation, make sure you have the latest version of Rainbow Six Siege installed, not the last-gen backwards compatible build, to avoid crossplay conflicts. Many players accidentally install the PS4 version on their PS5 or the Xbox One version on their Series X/S, which can cause issues when trying to join crossplay lobbies with friends who have the current-gen build. You can check which version you have installed by looking at the game title in your console library.
You’ll also need to make sure your Ubisoft account is linked to your console account for crossplay to work. If you haven’t linked it yet, you’ll get a pop-up prompt the first time you launch the game asking you to sign in to your Ubisoft account or create a new one. This process takes less than two minutes, and it also enables cross-progression across any platforms you link to the same account. I’ve helped three of my friends fix crossplay issues just by walking them through linking their Ubisoft accounts, so don’t skip that step if you’re getting error messages when trying to join a lobby.
Key Crossplay Limitations and Rules to Know
While crossplay support for Rainbow Six Siege is fairly robust, there are some hard limitations you need to be aware of before you try to set up a group with friends. Most of these rules are in place to keep competitive play fair, while others are tied to how Ubisoft manages player accounts and game licensing.
The biggest limitation most players run into is the split between PC and console pools. Ubisoft has stated repeatedly that merging these pools would create an unfair playing field, as mouse and keyboard users have significantly faster reaction times and more precise aim than controller users, even with aim assist enabled. There is no public timeline for when or if PC and console crossplay will ever be added, so don’t expect that feature to roll out anytime soon.
- Crossplay between PC and console platforms is not supported, and there is no announced timeline for this feature to be added
- Cross-progression is tied to your Ubisoft account, so you can carry over your skins, MMR, and unlocks across all platforms you link, but you have to own the game on each platform separately
- Custom game lobbies follow the same pool rules as public lobbies, so you can't make a custom lobby with both PC and console players even if you want to
- You can only add players from other platforms to your in-game friends list if you have their Ubisoft account username, not their console gamertag
If you want to play with friends on PC and you own a console, you will need to purchase a separate PC copy of Rainbow Six Siege to join their lobbies. Your progress will carry over via cross-progression, so you won’t lose any of your existing skins or rank when you switch between platforms.
One small downside to crossplay is that you may see slightly longer queue times if you live in a low-population region, especially for ranked play. That said, most players actually see shorter queue times with crossplay enabled, since the pool of available players is much larger than it is for single-platform lobbies. If you do run into long queues, you can always turn crossplay off temporarily to match only with players on your same platform.
How to Fix Common Rainbow Six Siege Crossplay Errors
Even if you have all your settings configured correctly, you may run into occasional crossplay errors when trying to join lobbies with friends. Most of these errors are caused by small account or version mismatches, and they’re very easy to fix without contacting support.
The most common error is the “Failed to join crossplay lobby” message that pops up when you try to accept a friend’s invite. This almost always means one of two things: either someone in the group has crossplay disabled, or someone in the group is running an outdated version of the game. Have every member of your group check their crossplay setting and make sure they’ve installed all pending game updates before trying to join the lobby again.
Another common error is when you can’t find a friend on your in-game friends list even though you know they’re online. This is almost always because you’re searching for their console gamertag instead of their Ubisoft account username. You can only add cross-platform friends via their Ubisoft handle, so ask them to send you their username, or send them a party invite via your console’s native party system first, which will automatically connect you in the game.
If you get a “Crossplay not available” message when you launch the game, that usually means your account has restricted multiplayer settings enabled. This is common for child accounts or accounts with parental controls turned on. Go to your platform’s account settings menu and make sure cross-platform play is allowed for your account, then restart the game.
Restarting your game and router will fix 90% of random crossplay connection errors, so try that first before digging through settings. I’ve had this work for me dozens of times when I couldn’t join my friend’s Xbox lobby from my PS5, so don’t overlook the simple fixes. If you still run into issues after trying all these steps, you can check the official Rainbow Six Siege server status page to make sure there are no ongoing outages affecting crossplay services.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you crossplay on Rainbow Six Siege depends on what platforms you and your friends play on, but most groups will be able to queue together without much hassle. Even if you can't play across PC and console right now, the existing crossplay support for all console launchers and PC storefronts makes it easier than ever to play with people you enjoy, no matter what device they use. Cross-progression also means you don’t have to start over from scratch if you decide to switch platforms later on. If you run into issues, start with the simple fixes we covered, and you'll be back in a match before you know it.