You’re hyped to run a ranked stack with your friends after work, but there’s one problem: you play on PS5, one friend uses an Xbox Series S, and another only has a PC for gaming. Before you waste 20 minutes digging through confusing support pages, you’re asking the same question thousands of players do every week: can you crossplay Rainbow Six Siege without running into a dozen annoying roadblocks? I’ve been in this exact spot before, when I tried to squad up with my little brother who plays on PC a couple years back, so I’ve compiled all the tested, up-to-date info you need to stop searching and start playing. This guide breaks down supported platforms, hidden restrictions, setup steps, and cross-progression rules you won’t find in random forum threads.
Can You Crossplay Rainbow Six Siege Across All Platforms?
The short answer is yes, but only within specific platform groups that Ubisoft set up to keep matches fair. Ubisoft rolled out full crossplay support after Year 7 updates, but they split players into two separate pools to avoid competitive imbalance. Console crossplay is fully supported between all PlayStation and Xbox devices, so if you’re on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S, you can squad up with any friend on another console no problem.
You cannot currently crossplay between PC and console versions of Siege, and Ubisoft has stated they have no plans to change this any time soon. The decision comes down to two big reasons: first, mouse and keyboard input gives PC players a massive advantage over controller users, which would make matches frustrating for console players. Second, PC has a higher rate of cheaters, and Ubisoft doesn’t want to risk ruining the console experience for players who prefer a lower-toxicity, lower-cheat environment. Cloud platform players on Amazon Luna are grouped into the PC pool if they use mouse and keyboard, or the console pool if they play with a controller, so you can squad up with friends in the matching pool easily.
Ubisoft tested PC-console crossplay briefly a few years ago, but community feedback was overwhelmingly negative, so they scrapped the plan entirely. If you have friends on both PC and console, you’ll need separate squads for each group, or you can run custom games if you just want to mess around for fun.
Key Crossplay Restrictions You Need to Know Before Queuing
Crossplay works seamlessly for most casual matches, but there are a few small restrictions you need to be aware of before you queue, especially if you’re playing ranked. These rules are designed to keep matches fair for everyone, even if they feel annoying at first. I’ve run into almost all of these myself, so I’ve broken down the most important ones below:
- Ranked crossplay is disabled for mixed input groups: If one person in your squad is using a mouse and keyboard on a console, you’ll only be matched with other MKB console players, not controller users, to stop controller players from getting stomped by more precise MKB inputs.
- Custom game lobbies do not have crossplay restrictions: You can tweak settings to allow any platform or input type, even if you want to run a fun scrim between PC and console friends for a casual game night.
- Region locks still apply for most casual and ranked queues: You’ll only be matched with players in your local server region, even if you’re squadding up with someone from another country, to keep ping low and avoid laggy matches.
- Crossplay is automatically enabled by default, but you can turn it off in your settings if you only want to match with players on the exact same device as you.
I learned the mixed input rule the hard way last month, when I tried to queue ranked with a friend who uses a MKB adapter on his Xbox. We kept getting matched against super sweaty MKB players and went on a 4-game loss streak before we realized what was happening. If you want to play against controller users only, make sure everyone in your squad is using a controller, or turn crossplay off entirely in your settings.
Casual queues don’t have the same mixed input restrictions, but you will still be matched with players of similar skill level regardless of platform. I’ve actually noticed that console crossplay has made casual queues a lot faster, since there are way more players in the pool to match with, so I rarely wait more than 30 seconds for a match now.
How to Set Up Crossplay for Rainbow Six Siege With Friends
Setting up crossplay is way simpler than most people make it out to be, as long as you avoid one common mistake. Make sure every person in your squad has added each other as friends on their Ubisoft Connect account, not just their platform-specific friends list. A lot of people try to add friends via their PSN or Xbox friends list, but that won’t work for cross-platform play, since Siege uses Ubisoft’s own friend system for crossplay.
First, have everyone in your squad find their Ubisoft Connect username, which you can see in the top right corner of the main menu in Siege, or on the Ubisoft Connect app. Search for each other’s usernames, send friend requests, and accept them before you try to invite anyone to a squad. Once you’re added, you’ll see a small platform icon next to each friend’s name in your Ubisoft friends list, so you can tell what device they’re playing on.
If you don’t see your friend’s name in your list, first make sure you both have crossplay enabled in your in-game settings: Go to the options menu, select the general tab, scroll down to crossplay, and make sure the toggle is switched on. If you’re on console, you might also need to adjust your platform privacy settings to allow cross-platform play. For PlayStation users, that means going to your PSN settings, selecting “Users and Accounts”, then “Privacy”, then “Gameplay” and toggling on cross-platform play. For Xbox users, you’ll find the same setting under “Account” then “Privacy & online safety” in your Xbox settings.
If you’re still having trouble seeing friend requests, try restarting your game first, that fixes 90% of crossplay invite issues I’ve run into. If that doesn’t work, double check that you both spelled each other’s Ubisoft usernames correctly, since platform usernames don’t always match Ubisoft usernames, and typos are super common.
Cross-Progression Rules for Crossplay Siege Players
Most players who ask about crossplay also want to know if their progress carries over across devices, and the good news is cross-progression is fully supported for all Siege players. All your skins, operator unlocks, ranked rank, and in-game currency will carry over across every device you play on, as long as you link all your platform accounts to the same Ubisoft Connect account. That means if you grind on your PS5 during the week, you can log into your Xbox at a friend’s house on the weekend and have all your same loadouts and skins ready to go.
There are only a couple small exceptions to cross-progression. First, any platform-exclusive skins, like the PlayStation-themed Ash skin or the Xbox exclusive Sledge skin, will only be available when you’re playing on that specific platform, they won’t show up on other devices. Second, any platform-specific currency, like PlayStation Store wallet funds or Xbox gift card money you used to buy R6 credits, will stay on the platform you bought them on, but any R6 credits you buy directly through Ubisoft Connect will carry over across all platforms.
I made the mistake of having separate Ubisoft accounts for my PS4 and PC a few years ago, so I lost all my PS4 skins and operator unlocks when I switched to PC full time. Don’t make that same mistake: if you plan to play on multiple devices, link all your accounts to one single Ubisoft Connect account before you start grinding, or you’ll lose all your progress when you switch devices. You can’t merge separate Ubisoft accounts, so it’s better to fix this early than to lose hundreds of dollars worth of skins later.
At the end of the day, if you were wondering can you crossplay Rainbow Six Siege with your friends on different devices, the answer is almost always yes, as long as you’re all in the same platform pool (all console or all PC). You don’t have to jump through too many hoops to get a squad going, just make sure your Ubisoft accounts are linked, crossplay is turned on, and you’re aware of the small restrictions for ranked queues. The next time you and your friends are trying to plan a game night, you won’t have to waste time scrolling through outdated support pages, you can jump straight into a match and start planting defusers together.
