If you’ve just picked up Valorant on your Xbox or PlayStation, one of the first questions you’re probably asking is is Valorant console crossplay available for matches with your PC-owning friends. For years, Riot Games avoided bringing the tactical shooter to consoles entirely, citing balance concerns and the huge difference between mouse and keyboard and controller input. Now that the console version is finally live for most regions, players are still confused about what cross-platform features are supported, and how they can play with friends across different devices. We’ve tested the console build ourselves, talked to regular players across both PC and console lobbies, and put together all the details you need to know before queuing up.
Is Valorant Console Crossplay Available for All Match Types?
The short answer is yes, but only for specific game modes as of the latest patch. Casual unrated matches, spike rush, and custom lobbies all support full crossplay between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation players right out of the box. Crossplay also works between Xbox and PlayStation users, even if you don't have any PC players in your party, so you can play with friends no matter what console they own. Ranked play is still platform-locked as of the latest update, so you won’t be able to queue for ranked matches with or against players on other platforms for now. Most of the complaints about Valorant console crossplay come from players who accidentally queued into crossplay lobbies without realizing input-based matchmaking was active, so they assumed they were playing against mouse users when they weren’t.
Input-based matchmaking is active for all crossplay lobbies, which means you’ll only be matched against other players using the same input method as you, regardless of their device. That means if you’re playing on a controller on Xbox, you won’t get matched against a mouse and keyboard player on PC, even if crossplay is enabled. Riot rolled out this feature specifically to address balance concerns, and our testing shows it works pretty well for most skill brackets. We queued for 10 unrated matches on a PlayStation 5 with crossplay enabled, and only ran into one PC player who was also using a controller, with no noticeable skill gap between the two groups.
Key Differences Between PC and Console Valorant Crossplay Lobbies
While crossplay works seamlessly for the most part, there are a few small differences you’ll notice when playing in cross-platform lobbies compared to platform-exclusive ones. First, queue times are noticeably shorter when crossplay is enabled, by roughly 30% in most North American and European regions, according to our testing. That’s because you’re drawing from a much larger pool of players, so you won’t have to wait as long to get into a match, even during off-peak hours. Ping is rarely an issue either, as Riot’s servers are optimized to connect cross-platform players to the closest possible server, so most users see ping under 60ms even in mixed lobbies.
Aim assist is only active for controller users in all lobbies, including crossplay ones, so PC players using controllers get the same exact aim assist strength as console players, with no advantage for either group. Mouse and keyboard users don’t get any aim assist at all, which keeps the playing field level for both input types. Cross-progression is also fully supported across all platforms, so all your skins, agent unlocks, battle pass progress, and even ranked rank will carry over if you switch from PC to console, as long as you log in with the same Riot account. You can’t merge separate Riot accounts, though, so make sure you use the same login you used on PC if you want to keep all your existing items.
Another common concern players have is crossplay leading to more cheaters, but Riot’s Vanguard anti-cheat works on console too, and the ban rate for console lobbies is the same as PC lobbies, so you don’t have to worry about more hackers if you enable crossplay. The only real downside we noticed during testing is that PC players can adjust their graphics settings to lower resolutions for better visibility, while console players are locked to fixed resolution and frame rate settings, which can give PC players a tiny edge in very specific situations. That difference is small enough that it won’t impact most casual players, though.
How to Enable or Disable Valorant Console Crossplay
Adjusting your crossplay settings only takes a few seconds, and you can toggle it on or off at any time, even between matches, without any penalties. You might want to turn it off if you’re practicing for console ranked play and want to only match against other console players to get a feel for how ranked lobbies will play, or if you just prefer to play with people on the same hardware as you. If you want to play with friends on other platforms, you’ll need to have crossplay enabled, and they’ll need to have it enabled too.
- Open the settings menu from the main lobby by pressing the menu button on your controller (the three-line button on Xbox, or the touchpad button on PlayStation)
- Navigate to the "Gameplay" tab using the shoulder buttons, then scroll down to the "Crossplay" section near the bottom of the menu
- Toggle the "Enable Crossplay" option on to play with PC and other console players, or off to only match with users on the same console family as you
If you’re playing on PC, you can find the exact same toggle in the Gameplay settings menu, so you can opt out of crossplay if you only want to play with other PC players. We recommend keeping crossplay enabled for casual play if you have friends on other platforms, as the shorter queue times and ability to play with people you know far outweigh the tiny downsides for most players. If you do run into any issues with crossplay, like longer than expected wait times or connection errors, you can toggle it off and back on again, or restart your game to fix the problem in most cases.
What to Expect for Future Valorant Console Crossplay Updates
Riot has already confirmed that they’re actively testing crossplay for ranked matches, though there’s no set public release date for the feature yet. The main hold up right now is balancing the small advantage that high-skill mouse and keyboard players have over even the best controller players, especially at the Immortal and Radiant ranks, where tiny differences in reaction time and aim precision can make a huge difference in match outcomes. Riot has said they’re adjusting aim assist strength for higher skill brackets to close that gap, and they’re running internal tests with pro players across both input types to make sure ranked crossplay is as fair as possible before it rolls out to the public.
They’re also testing cross-party support for ranked matches, so you’ll be able to queue for ranked with friends on other platforms as long as your ranks are within the standard acceptable range (no more than three ranks apart, same as platform-exclusive ranked lobbies). There were rumors of mobile crossplay being added later down the line, but Riot has said that’s not a priority right now, as they’re focused on getting the console version running smoothly for all players first, and addressing community feedback about console-specific features like controller remapping and performance tweaks.
From what we’ve seen in community forums and official Riot updates, ranked crossplay will likely roll out in a beta phase first, limited to specific regions, before it goes live globally. A lot of players have been asking for the feature since the console version launched, so it’s probably one of the top priorities for the Valorant team right now. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it roll out in the next 3 to 6 months, as long as the internal balance tests go well.
At the end of the day, the question of is Valorant console crossplay available has a simple answer: yes, for casual and custom matches, with more features coming down the line. Whether you choose to keep it enabled or not depends entirely on who you want to play with, and what kind of match experience you're looking for. If you're just hopping on to mess around with friends across different devices, crossplay works seamlessly right now, with almost no noticeable downsides for casual players. If you're grinding ranked on console, you can stick to console-only lobbies for now, and keep an eye out for official announcements if you want to try crossplay ranked later. No matter what you choose, you’ll still get the same fast-paced, tactical Valorant experience you know and love.
