If you’ve ever wanted to squad up with a friend who plays on a different device than you, you’ve probably asked can you cross play on Apex Legends. I’ve been playing Apex regularly since Season 3, and I squad up with friends on Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch every week, so I’ve navigated every quirk of the cross play system you can imagine. I’ve run into missing friend requests, unexpected lag spikes, and even the occasional unfair match against a PC sweat with a 200 FPS rig, so I know exactly what works and what doesn’t when it comes to cross platform play in the game. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to set up cross play, avoid common headaches, and decide if it’s the right choice for your playstyle.
Can You Cross Play on Apex Legends Across All Platforms?
The short answer is yes, cross play is supported for all official, non-mobile versions of Apex Legends. That means players on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (via Steam or the EA App), and Nintendo Switch can all squad up together, no extra work required for the most part. The feature has been enabled by default for all players since 2020, so unless you’ve manually turned it off in your settings, you’re already playing in cross play lobbies most of the time.
Wait, what about ranked play? Cross play works for both casual and ranked lobbies, but Respawn uses input-based matchmaking to keep matches as fair as possible. That means controller players will mostly be matched against other controller players, even if they’re on PC, and mouse and keyboard players will be matched against other mouse and keyboard users. There are exceptions for pre-made parties that mix input types, though, so if you’re queuing with a friend who uses mouse and keyboard while you’re on controller, you’ll be placed in lobbies that match the highest skill level in your party.
It’s worth noting that the now-discontinued Apex Legends Mobile does not support cross play with console or PC versions of the game, and there are no plans to add that functionality in the future. If you’re playing a mobile version of Apex that’s not the official release from Respawn, cross play will not work at all, and you may risk getting your main EA account banned for using unofficial software.
How to Enable and Use Cross Play in Apex Legends
As I mentioned earlier, cross play is turned on by default for all new players, but if you turned it off at some point and want to turn it back on, the process is simple no matter what platform you’re on. First, open the settings menu from the main lobby, then navigate to the Gameplay tab. Scroll down until you see the Cross Platform Play option, then toggle it to On. You don’t even need to restart the game for the change to take effect.
Once cross play is enabled, inviting friends from other platforms is pretty straightforward, but there’s one common mistake most new players make. You’ll need to search for your friend’s EA account ID, not their platform-specific username, to send cross-platform friend requests. That means if your friend’s PSN ID is ApexGamer123 but their EA ID is GamerApex456, you’ll need to search for GamerApex456 to find them. Your friend can find their EA ID by logging into their EA account online, or by checking the account info section in their Apex settings.
Once you send a friend request, they’ll get a notification in their Apex friends list no matter what platform they’re on. Once they accept, you can invite them to your party just like you would any other friend on your platform. You’ll see a small icon next to their name showing what platform they’re playing on, so you can easily tell who is on what device.
If you’re playing ranked, you don’t need to do anything extra to use cross play. The game will automatically match you with players across platforms as long as cross play is enabled, and the rank restrictions for parties are the same for cross platform parties as they are for same-platform parties. That means you can’t queue with a friend who is more than one rank tier above or below you, even if they’re on a different platform.
Key Pros and Cons of Apex Legends Cross Play
Cross play is a fantastic feature for most players, but it’s not perfect, and there are some tradeoffs you should be aware of before you leave it enabled all the time. Let’s start with the good parts first. The biggest benefit is obviously being able to play with all your friends no matter what device they own. I have friends who refuse to buy a PlayStation but love Apex on their Xbox, and cross play lets us squad up every weekend without any of us having to buy a new console.
Cross play also cuts down on queue times drastically, especially if you play during off-peak hours, like early weekdays or late at night. Before cross play was added, I would sometimes wait 10+ minutes for a ranked match on PlayStation during slow hours. Now, even at 2am on a Tuesday, I can get into a match in less than 2 minutes. You also get a more varied pool of opponents, so you don’t end up fighting the same group of sweats every single time you log on.
That said, there are some real downsides to cross play that can make the experience frustrating for casual players:
I usually leave cross play on when I’m playing with friends on other platforms, but I turn it off completely when I’m grinding ranked solo on my PS5. It’s a personal choice, and you can toggle the setting on and off as much as you want depending on what you’re looking for that play session.
Common Cross Play Issues and How to Fix Them
I’ve run into almost every cross play issue there is over the years, and most of them have really simple fixes that take less than a minute to try. Let’s start with the most common issue: not being able to find a friend when you search their EA ID. Most of the time, this happens because their EA account privacy settings are set to block friend requests from people outside their platform. If you can’t find a friend via search, ask them to check their EA account privacy settings to enable cross-platform friend requests. They can adjust this setting by logging into their EA account on the official website, or through the account settings menu in Apex.
Another common issue is lag or high ping in cross play lobbies. This happens because the game will automatically pick a server that’s a middle ground for all players in your party, so if you’re on the east coast of the US and your friend is in Europe, you’ll be connected to a server somewhere in the middle, which can lead to higher ping for both of you. The fix for this is to manually select a server that’s closest to the majority of your party before you queue up. You can access the server selection menu by clicking the small data center icon in the bottom right corner of the main lobby screen.
If you’re noticing that you’re getting matched against way more skilled players than usual when cross play is enabled, that’s usually because you’re being placed in lobbies with high-level PC players. Console players can opt out of cross play entirely at any time if they prefer to only match against other console users. This will make queue times a bit longer, but you won’t have to deal with PC players who have better hardware or access to cheats.
The last common issue is getting an error message when you try to join a cross play party. 9 times out of 10, this is because someone in the party is running an outdated version of the game. Always make sure every party member has installed the latest Apex Legends patch to avoid cross play party join errors. If everyone is on the latest patch and you still can’t join, try restarting your game or your router, as that usually fixes any minor connectivity glitches.
One less common issue I’ve run into is friend requests not showing up even after you send them. If that happens, have your friend send you a request instead, as the system sometimes glitches when sending requests from certain platforms to others. It’s a small annoyance, but it’s an easy fix.
Now you have the full answer to can you cross play on Apex Legends, plus all the tips you need to make the experience as smooth as possible. For most players, leaving cross play enabled is the best choice, since it lets you play with all your friends and cuts down on queue times dramatically. But if you’re a solo ranked player who hates dealing with cheaters or uneven hardware advantages, there’s no shame in turning it off to stick to same-platform lobbies. At the end of the day, the best setting is the one that makes the game fun for you.