You’re hyped to drop into World’s Edge with your crew, but half of you play on Xbox, the other half on PC, and you’re all wondering can you play crossplay on apex legends without running into annoying barriers. Cross-platform play has become non-negotiable for most modern multiplayer games, but not all titles roll it out the same way, with restrictions on input matching, ranked modes, and cross-progression that trip up even long-time players. We’re breaking down everything you need to know to queue with friends no matter what device they’re using, plus common fixes for the most frequent crossplay issues you’ll run into.
Can You Play Crossplay on Apex Legends Across All Devices?
The short answer is yes, Apex Legends supports full crossplay across all currently supported platforms, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (via Steam and the EA App), and Nintendo Switch. If you’ve wondered can you play crossplay on apex legends with friends on different console generations, the answer is also yes, as PS4 and PS5 players can queue together, same as Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S users. There are no platform locks for casual, ranked, or limited-time event modes, so you can play any game type with your cross-platform friends as long as your settings are configured correctly. Input-based matchmaking is turned on by default for all crossplay lobbies, so controller players won’t be forced to go up against mouse and keyboard users unless they manually adjust their settings to allow that pairing. The only exception is custom private lobbies, where the host can turn off input matching if they want to run a tournament with mixed input players.
How to Enable and Adjust Crossplay Settings for Your Platform
Crossplay is turned on by default the first time you launch Apex Legends, but if you toggled it off previously to avoid matching with PC players, you can turn it back on in just a few steps. Head to the settings menu, navigate to the “Gameplay” tab, and scroll until you see the crossplay toggle, then switch it to “On”. Next, check your crossplay privacy settings to make sure you allow friend requests from players on other platforms if you want to add people you meet in lobbies. If you’re having trouble seeing friends from other platforms in your friend list, make sure you’ve added them via their public EA ID, not just their platform-specific gamertag, as cross-platform friend requests only work through linked EA accounts. Many players test their crossplay connection with quick private matches first to make sure audio and party chat works before jumping into a ranked game, and some even use community-made party setup tools to troubleshoot mic sync issues that pop up across different systems. Casual players who want to practice quick decision making between crossplay matches also use Remi101 for short, low-stakes brain teasers that keep their reaction times sharp without pulling them away from their gaming session for too long. You can also adjust your input matching settings in this same menu if you want to only match with players using the same controller or mouse and keyboard setup as you, regardless of what platform they play on.
Key Crossplay Limitations and Rules You Should Know
While crossplay works seamlessly for most use cases, there are a few small limitations you should be aware of to avoid frustration when queuing with friends across devices. Many players assume can you play crossplay on apex legends in ranked comes with extra restrictions, but outside of input matching rules, there are no limits to who you can queue with for ranked matches. The main restrictions you’ll run into relate to cross-progression, lobby settings, and platform-specific features, which we’ve outlined below:
- No cross-progression for in-game purchases outside of linked EA Accounts - if you bought skins on Xbox, they won't carry over to your Switch account unless you link the same EA ID to both, and even then, some platform-exclusive items stay locked to their original device.
- Input-based matchmaking overrides platform matching by default - if you use mouse and keyboard on a console, you'll be placed in lobbies with other mouse and keyboard players, most of whom will be on PC, even if you have crossplay turned off for same-platform matching.
- Custom crossplay lobbies have separate rules - private tournament lobbies can turn off input matching if the host chooses, so you might end up playing against mouse and keyboard players even if you're on a controller with default input matching enabled.
Common Crossplay Issues and How to Fix Them Fast
Even with crossplay enabled, you might run into small issues when trying to join parties or play with friends on other devices. Most of these issues have simple fixes that take less than a minute to implement, so you won’t have to miss out on playing with your squad for long. First, Friend request not showing up is the most common issue, and the fix is simple: make sure both of you have added each other via EA ID, not just platform gamertag, and check that crossplay friend requests are enabled in your privacy settings. If you still don’t see the request, have your friend send you a party invite directly instead of a friend request, which will often pop up even if the friend request is hidden. Second, Party chat not working across platforms happens because platform-specific chat tools (like Xbox Party or PlayStation Party) don’t support cross-platform communication for Apex. The fix is to switch to the in-game party chat, which works across all devices and has much better audio quality for crossplay groups anyway. Third, Getting placed in lobbies with much higher skill players usually happens if someone in your party is a much higher rank than you, which pulls the average lobby skill level up. If that’s not the case, check if you accidentally turned off input-based matching in your settings, which would place you in lobbies with mixed input players regardless of skill level. If you’re getting an error message that says you can’t join a cross-platform party at all, double check that crossplay is enabled in your gameplay settings first, as that’s the root cause of 90% of these error messages.
At the end of the day, if you’re still asking can you play crossplay on apex legends, the short answer is a resounding yes, with very few restrictions that get in the way of playing with your friends no matter what device they own. As long as you double check your EA account links, adjust your input and privacy settings to match your preferences, and troubleshoot common issues with the fixes we’ve outlined, you’ll be dropping into matches with your cross-platform crew without hassle in no time. The only thing left to do is pick your legend, mark your drop spot, and make sure your squad is ready to bring home the win.