Is Overwatch Cross-platform? Learn How it Works and How to Enable it
If there’s one thing Overwatch is adulated for, it should be its appeal to gamers across the world through engaging gameplay and futuristic cartoon characters. But all that still left much to be desired as the game once lacked a crucial feature present in other AAA online first-person shooter games — cross-platform play.
Thankfully, the developers, Blizzard Entertainment, released an update in Q4 2021 that allows users across different platforms to play against each other. So, yes, Overwatch does support cross-platform play now, but there’s a catch: You’ll need a designated battle.net account to be able to use the cross-platform feature.
Read on below to find out how to go about it.
How Does Cross-Platform Play Work in Overwatch?
Cross-platform play in Overwatch is pretty similar to AAA titles such as Fortnite and Apex Legends. You go online through any game mode, and the game’s servers match you with or against players from various platforms instead of just yours.
Cross-Platform play broadens matchmaking options and attenuates the amount of time you spend in the lobby, which is a welcome idea for players who want to go into the game — guns blazing — without waiting for a long time.
So, if your playmate likes to play on a console and you’re a PC player with a slight edge regarding aiming and precision, you can still ransack loot boxes together, never mind your different hardware. Just don’t jump into the topic of whose platform is better. You don’t want all that futile, distracting talk on the war front.
How to Enable Cross-Platform Play in Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment first announced the introduction of cross-platform play to Overwatch in June 2021, and many users have been able to use it since then. To join on the bandwagon, you’ll need to link your console to a Battle.net account.
Here’s how to go about it:
- Sign in to your Battle.net account if you already have one. Otherwise, sign up for a new account and then log in.
- Once you’ve created and logged in to your account, go to the top-right corner of the homepage and click your account name
- Next, select Account Settings in the drop-down menu and then Connections
- From the options that appear next, choose any of your Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Network, or Xbox Live account to connect your Battle.net account with
With that done, launch the game and play with existing and new friends from across different platforms. However, there are things about Overwatch cross-platform play worth taking note of:
- Cross-Platform play is available in all game modes except competitive games
- Console and PC players are split into different pools for competitive play
- Console and PC players are not matched in competitive battles
- PC and console players can only play against one another in non-competitive games
Final Notes
With Overwatch 2 on the way, we can only wait to see what dimension Blizzard Entertainment takes the game from here regarding cross-platform play. In the meantime, we can keep playing Overwatch against other users in cross-platform play, never mind its limitations.
