If you’ve ever wanted to squad up for a game of Worlds Edge or Storm Point with a friend who owns a different console or PC, you’ve probably asked can you play cross platform on apex legends. I’ve been playing Apex regularly since its launch, bouncing between PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam accounts to play with different groups of friends, so I’ve tested every part of the crossplay system inside and out. This guide covers everything you need to know to connect with friends across devices, adjust settings to fit your playstyle, and fix the most common issues that pop up with cross-platform play.
Can You Play Cross Platform on Apex Legends Across All Devices?
The short answer is yes, cross-platform play is supported for all major versions of Apex Legends. It launched back in 2020, and has been updated regularly to work smoothly across all active supported platforms. Crossplay is enabled by default for all new accounts, so you don’t have to mess with settings to jump into cross-platform lobbies right out of the box.
Supported platforms for crossplay include PC (both Steam and the EA App), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The only exception is the now-discontinued Apex Legends Mobile, which never supported crossplay with console or PC versions before it was shut down. You also can’t play cross-platform with players on the old GeForce Now cloud version if they’re running a separate build, but most cloud gaming services now run the standard PC build that works with all other platforms.
It’s important to not mix up crossplay with cross-progression, which is a separate feature. Crossplay just lets you play with people on other devices, while cross-progression lets you carry your rank, cosmetics, and in-game progress across all platforms you play on. Cross-progression is available for all players as long as you link all your accounts to the same EA ID, but it’s not required to use crossplay.
How to Enable and Adjust Crossplay Settings for Your Account
Even though crossplay is turned on by default, you can adjust the settings to fit what you’re comfortable with. The steps are slightly different depending on what platform you’re playing on, but the options are the same across all devices. To find the crossplay settings, head to the main menu, open the settings tab, and scroll down to the “Cross Platform Play” section.
Console players can restrict crossplay to only same-platform users if they don’t want to match against PC players. This is a popular option for people who feel mouse and keyboard gives PC players an unfair advantage in gunfights. Keep in mind that turning off crossplay will make your queue times longer, especially for ranked play during off-peak hours, since you’ll only be matching with other players on the same console family as you.
To add friends from other platforms, you’ll need to search for their EA public ID, not their platform-specific gamertag or Steam username. You can find your own EA public ID in the “About” section of your in-game profile. You will need to enable friend requests from non-platform users to receive crossplay squad invites, so make sure that setting is toggled on if you’re expecting invites from friends on other devices. Once you add someone as an EA friend, they’ll show up in your friend list no matter what platform you’re playing on.
Key Pros and Cons of Playing Apex Legends Cross Platform
Crossplay is a great feature for most players, but it’s not perfect for everyone. Before you leave it enabled or turn it off entirely, it’s worth weighing the upsides and downsides to see what works best for your playstyle.
Some of the biggest benefits of crossplay include bigger player pools, faster queue times, and the ability to play with anyone you want regardless of what device they own. The downsides mostly revolve around input imbalance, occasional connection issues between different platforms, and the risk of running into more cheaters if you’re playing against PC players.
Here are a few quick key facts to keep in mind about crossplay:
- You can squad up with friends no matter what device they own, no need to buy multiple copies of the game or create separate accounts to play with different groups
- Crossplay lobbies have faster queue times, especially for less popular modes like ranked arenas or mixtape rotations during off-peak hours when fewer players are online
- Console players who turn off crossplay will only match with other console players on the same family of devices, so PS5 players will only match with other PS5 and PS4 players, for example
PC players have an inherent advantage with mouse and keyboard aim precision, especially at long ranges, so if you’re a console player who only plays ranked, you might want to turn off crossplay to avoid matching against high-skill PC players. That said, most casual players won’t notice a big enough difference to ruin their fun, especially if you’re playing with friends you know.
Crossplay does not share progress or cosmetic items across platforms unless you have enabled cross-progression for your account. If you haven’t linked all your accounts to the same EA ID, you’ll still have separate progress on each platform even if you use crossplay to play with friends.
How to Fix Common Cross Platform Apex Legends Issues
Crossplay works smoothly most of the time, but there are a few common issues that pop up for players pretty regularly. Most of these are easy to fix in a minute or two without having to contact support.
The most common issue is not being able to find or send invites to friends on other platforms. Most crossplay invite errors come from entering the wrong EA public ID, not your friend's console or Steam username. Double check that you’re typing their ID exactly, including capitalization and any special characters, because EA IDs are case sensitive. If you still can’t find them, ask them to send you a friend request instead, or confirm that they have crossplay and non-platform friend requests enabled in their settings.
Another common issue is higher than usual lag in cross-platform lobbies. This usually happens when the lobby is hosted on a server that’s far away from most players in the group, or if one player has a unstable internet connection. Try restarting your router before you queue up, and make sure all players in your squad have a ping under 100ms to the closest server. If the lag persists, try switching to a different server region that’s closer to all members of your squad.
If you’re a console player and you keep matching against PC players even after you turn off crossplay, double check that you saved your settings after making the change. Sometimes the game will revert settings to default after an update, so it’s worth checking the crossplay toggle after every patch. If the issue still happens, log out of your EA account and log back in to refresh your settings.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play cross platform on apex legends is a resounding yes, and it’s one of the best features the game has added for casual and competitive players alike. Whether you want to squad up with friends across the world or just cut down on your queue times, crossplay makes the whole Apex experience way more flexible. Don’t be afraid to tweak your settings to fit what you enjoy most — if you hate playing against PC players, turn crossplay off, and if you just want to have fun with friends regardless of device, leave it on. Either way, you’ll be able to jump into matches and have a great time without too much hassle.