There’s nothing more frustrating than picking up your favorite shooter, only to realize you can’t queue up with your best friend because you’re on different consoles. If you’ve found yourself asking can you crossplay Rainbow Six Siege Xbox and PS4, you’re far from alone. Thousands of last-gen Siege players ask this exact question every month, especially as crossplay becomes a standard feature for most modern multiplayer games. We dug through official Ubisoft patch notes, tested every possible workaround, and talked to long-time community members to give you a clear, no-fluff answer to this common question, plus tips to play with your friends no matter what platform you’re on.
Can You Crossplay Rainbow Six Siege Xbox and PS4: Official Ubisoft Rules
Let’s cut straight to the point: as of the latest game update, there is no native crossplay support between any Xbox console (Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S) and PS4 for Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft first rolled out limited crossplay support for Siege back in late 2022, but the feature was only enabled for next-gen consoles, PC, and cloud gaming platforms. Last-gen consoles like PS4 and Xbox One were left out of the initial rollout, and Ubisoft has repeatedly confirmed that there are no plans to add crossplay between these two platforms in future updates.
The only exception to this rule is if you’re playing the backward-compatible PS4 version of Siege on a PS5, but even then, you’ll only be matched with other PS4 and PS5 players running the last-gen version of the game. You won’t be able to connect to any Xbox players, even if they’re running the Xbox One version of the game on a Series X/S. The player pools for Xbox One and PS4 are completely separate, with no backend integration to let players match across the two platforms.
Why Crossplay Between Xbox and PS4 Isn’t Available for Siege
You might be wondering why Ubisoft added crossplay for next-gen consoles but skipped last-gen, especially when so many players still use PS4 and Xbox One. The biggest reason is hardware limitations. PS4 and Xbox One both run Siege at a lower tick rate and lower frame rate than next-gen consoles, and their online backend infrastructures are built very differently. Syncing the two would require a full rewrite of the last-gen netcode, which would risk introducing game-breaking bugs, input lag, or crashes for all last-gen players.
Competitive integrity is another big factor. Siege is a highly tactical, ranked-focused shooter, and even small differences in performance or input delay can change the outcome of a match. Ubisoft’s dev team has stated that they couldn’t guarantee a fair, consistent experience for players across Xbox One and PS4, so they decided not to implement the feature at all rather than release a half-baked version that ruins the game for competitive players.
It’s also worth noting that the last-gen player base has been shrinking steadily since next-gen consoles launched. Ubisoft has shifted most of its development resources to next-gen updates, new operator releases, and esports events, so allocating time and money to build a crossplay feature for a shrinking pool of players just doesn’t make logistical or financial sense. I’ve talked to dozens of long-time last-gen players who have been begging for this feature for years, but all official signals point to it never coming.
Workarounds to Play With Friends Across Xbox and PS4
While there’s no native crossplay support, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Siege with your friends on the opposite platform. We tested every possible workaround to find the ones that actually work, without risking your account or ruining your gameplay experience.
- Upgrade to next-gen consoles: If both you and your friend upgrade to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, you can enable crossplay in your Siege settings and queue for casual, unranked, and custom matches together seamlessly. Ranked crossplay is disabled for controller vs mouse and keyboard, but you’ll both be placed in the controller pool if you use standard console inputs, so you won’t have to worry about playing against PC players with better input accuracy.
- Use custom game lobbies with shared streaming: If you don’t want to upgrade your consoles, you can set up separate custom lobbies on each platform and stream your gameplay to each other via Discord or console streaming features. It’s not the same as playing on the same team, but it’s a fun way to compete against each other with friendly wagers, or run the same custom scenario to compare your performance.
- Switch to PC for cross-platform play: If one of you has a PC copy of Siege, you can both play on PC, or use the cross-save feature to transfer your account progress to PC and queue together regardless of what console you previously played on. Just note that PC lobbies have separate ranked pools if you use mouse and keyboard, so you can choose to stick with controller if you want a more console-like experience.
A critical warning here: never use third-party crossplay tools or mods that claim to let you connect Xbox and PS4 lobbies. These tools violate Ubisoft’s terms of service, and the dev team actively bans accounts that use unauthorized third-party software to modify online play. It’s not worth losing years of operator unlocks and ranked progress just to play a few matches with a friend.
Another thing to keep in mind: cross-save works across all platforms, so if you do upgrade to next-gen or switch to PC, you won’t lose all your skins, operator unlocks, or ranked progress. The cross-save setup only takes a few minutes through Ubisoft Connect, and it’s completely free to use for all players.
Other Crossplay Rules You Should Know for Rainbow Six Siege
Even if you can’t play across Xbox and PS4, it’s worth knowing how Siege’s crossplay system works for other platforms, so you can make the most of the feature if you ever upgrade or switch platforms.
First, same-generation crossplay is fully supported for all casual game modes between Xbox Series X/S and PS5, as well as between PC and cloud gaming platforms like GeForce Now. You can turn crossplay on or off at any time in your account settings, so you can choose to only play against players on the same platform if you prefer.
Second, ranked crossplay is limited to input-based pools to keep competition fair. That means controller players will only be matched against other controller players, no matter what platform they’re on, and mouse and keyboard players will only be matched against other mouse and keyboard players. This eliminates the biggest complaint about crossplay in competitive shooters, where mouse and keyboard players have a clear advantage over controller players.
Third, you can turn off crossplay entirely in your account settings if you only want to play against other players on the same console as you. I turned off crossplay for a few months last year when I was grinding for Platinum rank, and I noticed my matches felt a lot more consistent, with no weird input delay from cross-platform servers. It’s a great option if you’re a competitive player who wants as fair of a playing field as possible.
If you were asking can you crossplay Rainbow Six Siege Xbox and PS4, the short answer is no, there’s no native support for that right now, and there won’t be any coming in the future. That doesn’t mean you have to stop playing Siege with your friends, though. The workarounds we listed are all easy to set up, and upgrading to next-gen will not only let you play with your cross-platform friends, but also give you better performance, faster load times, and access to all the latest Siege content as it rolls out. At the end of the day, Siege is most fun when you’re playing with people you enjoy spending time with, so it’s worth testing out the workarounds to see what works best for you and your group.
