Is Overwatch Cross-Platform? Our Guide to Overwatch Crossplay

Given the overwhelming popularity of crossplay among major games like Fortnite and Call of Duty, it’s little wonder that so many gamers are asking, ‘Is Overwatch cross-platform?’

Thankfully, with the arrival of Overwatch 2, there have been some major changes recently. So take a look below and see if you can enjoy full crossplay and cross-progression functionality with this legendary first-person shooter!

What we mean by Overwatch crossplay

We can’t really answer a question like, ‘Is Overwatch cross-platform?’ without defining what we mean by cross-platform or crossplay. Simply put, it means being able to play the same game against other gamers despite them using a different platform.

So if you take a look at some of these games that are cross-platform, you’ll see that some of them let gamers compete whether they are using a PC, Xbox or a PlayStation.

Such crossplay options are becoming ever more sought-after by gamers. While cross-platform functionality is still relatively limited, more developers are starting to cater to this trend. So is Overwatch cross-platform or does it have the same limitations as the Valorant crossplay options?

Is Overwatch cross-platform?

While there were no crossplay options for Overwatch for quite some time, the game’s developers, Blizzard Entertainment, finally came to their senses and introduced cross-platform functionality. This feature was brought in ahead of the release of Overwatch 2 and it means that there will be Overwatch 2 crossplay too.

As a result, there is now cross-platform support for gamers playing from a PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Switch. This move was introduced for Overwatch in June 2022, and it also features in Overwatch 2. As a result, you can now group up and play with friends regardless of what platform they are using and which generation of Overwatch you are playing.

Seeing as similar games like Valorant have no cross-platform functionality, the decision by Blizzard to allow crossplay could have a significant part to play in the Overwatch vs Valorant war.

Can you play competitive Overwatch cross-platform?

While all of this is good news, it’s worth noting that you cannot play cross-platform in Overwatch’s competitive mode. Instead, PC gamers will have to play against PC gamers, console gamers against console gamers, and so on.

Such measures are in place to stop PC gamers having an unfair advantage over console gamers through being able to use full keyboard functionality. So if you’re in a group with PC and console players and you want to play competitively, you’ll be put into a PC player matchmaker pool. Bear in mind that console players won’t have the Aim Assist feature here as it will be disabled by default.

How to play Overwatch crossplay

The good news is that crossplay is already the default option if you are playing on a PC or a console. Just so you know, console gamers have the ability to turn it off although you’d need a fairly bizarre reason for doing so!

It’s relatively easy to figure out how to add friends on Overwatch cross-platform. All that you have to do is to sign up to or log into your Battle.net account and then link up the platform you’re playing from.

Next, you’ll see the other players on your Battle.net friends list. From here you can simply launch a game and look forward to playing alongside or even against your friends. Simple!

All about Overwatch cross-progression

So far, all of this has been pretty positive. However, the bad news is the fact that there is yet to be cross-progression featured in Overwatch. This means that any Overwatch ranks, skins or experience you may have earned will be lost should you switch between platforms.

However, rumours are that Overwatch 2 may introduce cross-progression via your Battle.net account. After all, crossplay and cross-progression options are now a key piece of the modern gaming experience and so we’d expect Blizzard to take account of this in all upcoming updates of Overwatch. So watch this space!

Check back for more about the next Overwatch crossplay release date

By now you really shouldn’t have to ask questions like, ‘Is Overwatch cross-platform?’ anymore. After all, we have shown you that there are some decent crossplay options here and it looks like there will be further cross-platform and cross-progression functionality in the future.

This is great news and it should hopefully keep those questions like, ‘Is Overwatch dying?’ at bay for a few more years. So keep it here for more about when further crossplay functionality comes to the latest Overwatch game!