After its transition to free-to-play this week, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is hosting thousands of new and returning players. It hasn’t been without its server errors, as well as a long tutorial involving training mode, but the battle royale is available for everyone. Of course, there is a chance that your regular multiplayer group or best friends aren’t on the same platform as you are. Before starting the hefty 40GB download, this guide will explain how the PUBG cross-platform functionality works, as well as whether there’s crossplay with PC.
Is PUBG Crossplay With PC?
No, there is no PUBG crossplay with PC. If you’re a PC user, there is no current way of matchmaking with console players.
This distinction also involves other online functionalities, such as adding friends, creating or joining private matches, and so on. It’s a bummer! But this is another example of a developer avoiding mouse and keyboard users having an advantage over console players who use controllers. Plus, while there is no aim assist in PUBG, it’s present in PUBG Mobile.
Is There Cross-Platform in PUBG?
Yes! PUBG calls this Cross-Platform Play. If you head over to Settings, Gameplay, and then General Settings, you’ll see the option to enable or disable Cross-Platform Play. At the moment, this option isn’t present on PC, as Steam users can’t play with folks on consoles.
Everyone who plays on PlayStation, Xbox, and Stadia can do Cross-Platform Play between them. This involves all console players (both current and old gen) being able to join the same team or against each other in the same matchmaking pools. This also includes custom matches. I don’t know anyone who is still using Stadia in 2022, but hey, I won’t judge.
It’s up to you to choose whether you want to have this option enabled. In the developer’s blog post about it, it’s stated that if you have the option turned off and happen to spend a long time in matchmaking without results, you’ll get a prompt asking if you want to switch it on.
If enabled, you’ll see players with a distinct platform icon alongside their usernames in the kill feed, while you’re spectating, and so on. Depending on where you’re seeing them, they might be differentiated with the platform logo or a designated color (green for Xbox, blue for PlayStation, and pink for Stadia).
In addition, there is also Cross-Party Play in PUBG. This is a fancy name for some of the options you have with cross-platform on, which include the following:
- Create parties with players on other console platforms (between PlayStation, Xbox, and Stadia).
- Search for people from other platforms to send invites or befriend them.
- Mute folks who are being annoying or watching a football match loudly in the background (both in lobbies and during matches).
- Join custom matches created on the aforementioned platforms.
All these options can be found under the Social screen. You can open up the Social menu in PUBG by pressing the View button on Xbox and Stadia, or the Square button on PlayStation while in the main menu. From here, the options are fairly standard (searching usernames, blocking or kicking folks, etc).
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Lastly, you can also use Team Finder in PUBG for a more personalized experience when looking for groups as opposed to matchmaking. Feel free to toggle this on or off in the Social menu. If enabled, you can invite people on your friends list or elsewhere whenever you’re looking for a team and accept invites to their lobbies. You can select a specific game mode, as well as language settings to further tweak your preferences. Have fun playing PUBG online!
[Disclaimer: Fanbyte is owned by Tencent, which also publishes PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. However, the company has no editorial oversight with Fanbyte Media. Nor have any of its representatives had direct contact with this writer.]
