Cross-play

Cross-play means players on different platforms can play together in the same match or the same session. A PS5 player, an Xbox player and a PC player in one game.

It is worth separating from a term that often gets mixed up with it. Cross-progression (sometimes called cross-save) means your account, your progress and your purchases carry across platforms — you play on PS5, then continue from the same point on PC. A game can have one without the other.

Can PS5 and Xbox players play together?

In games that support cross-play, yes. It is now common in large online titles — shooters, battle royales, sports games, co-op games. Fortnite, Call of Duty, EA Sports FC, Rocket League and Minecraft all support it in some form.

But it is decided by each game, not by the console. There is no console setting that makes cross-play work everywhere. If a game does not support it, PS5 and Xbox players simply cannot match together, and nothing you change will alter that. Check the game itself before buying if playing with friends on another platform is the point.

Three practical notes. Cross-play is often optional — many games let you switch it off, and some competitive shooters separate console and PC players because mouse and keyboard aim differently. Online play generally still needs a subscription on console: PlayStation Plus on PS5, Xbox Game Pass Core or Ultimate on Xbox. And content does not cross over: skins and DLC bought on one platform stay there, unless the game specifically supports cross-progression.

So the question to ask before buying is not just whether a game has cross-play, but whether it also carries your progress. The two are different promises.