If you’ve been playing Valorant or just recently started playing it, you may always ask the same question: Is Valorant crossplay? With the game released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, many players want to know if they can play with their friends on other platforms.
And the answer isn't as black and white as “yes” or “no.” Riot Games has designed Valorant to have competitive balance, which means crossplay works in some ways, but not in others. Let's unpack everything in the simplest terms.
Crossplay, or cross-platform play, means that players on different gaming devices can play together in the same match. It allows a PlayStation player to join another player on Xbox or PC in a squad.
Riot Games, the developer of Valorant, has introduced crossplay, but in a limited way. For now, it is available between consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S), but not in PC and console crossplay.
This limited crossplay system keeps matches balanced and fair. This allows console players to queue up with other friends with another console, but keeps PC players in their own player pool. Riot made the decision to avoid unfair matchups since it is well-known that playing with a mouse is faster and more precise than using a controller.
Riot Games wants to keep the competition fair and square. In their opinion, Valorant, as a tactical first-person shooter, is all about precision and speed of reaction.
Just think about it: How could you possibly compete against a player who is using a mouse and keyboard while you have a controller in your hands? Even if the difference between the aiming speeds of two players is small, it will nevertheless be the deciding factor of each round. Riot is aware that mixing these two control types in ranked or even casual games would frustrate players of both sides.
Therefore, the present decision can be summarized as follows:
This setup avoids unfair matches and keeps everyone playing on a level field.
With the launch of Valorant on consoles in 2024, Riot decided to keep the crossplay feature alive by allowing players to team up and compete against each other regardless of whether they are on PlayStation 5 or Xbox. So, if you want to crossplay, you don’t need to enable it as it comes with default activation.
Crossplay between consoles lets a friend on PS5 and a user on Xbox easily link up and then party up in a game. There is also a certain drawback of waiting time, which crossplay can remove, and both player pools can be combined. So, the time for matchmaking shortens, and the teams become more balanced.
To make the games run without any hitch, Riot has come up with new console-friendly features like Focus Mode and enhanced aim assist so that controller players can get more comfortable with the intense gameplay. Although it’s not exactly like playing on a PC, it’s still close enough to maintain the fun and competitive level.
While Valorant has no PC-to-console crossplay, Riot has added another excellent feature: cross-progression.
Basically, the majority of your game progress can be with you across different platforms if you are using the same Riot account. Just to illustrate:
Today, if you play on PC and tomorrow decide to take a shot at Valorant on a console, then you are going to find all your stuff there with you.
On the other hand, competitive rank cannot be allowed to go along with you from PC to a console. Each platform has its own ranking system for fair matchmaking. So if you are Platinum on PC, you will have to work your way up on PS5 or Xbox again.
First of all, Riot Games has made it clear that there is a Valorant Mobile in the pipeline and that it is undergoing some testing in certain areas. Nevertheless, it is quite a big deal to realize that Valorant Mobile will be a completely different game with a different look and different rules of balance.
Hence, there will be no interaction between the mobile and PC or console versions. The mobile version will probably have shorter matches and easier controls that are appropriate for touchscreens. Riot wants the experience to be enjoyable and fair for mobile players instead of putting them in the same matches with PC or console players.
Besides the crossplay aspect, players are also wondering if Valorant is a cross-region game, which means whether you can play with friends from different parts of the world.
The quick response is no. Similar to League of Legends, Valorant confines your account to a certain region as on the location of the account. So, if your account is from Europe, you will be playing on European servers.
However, there is a way around it: a VPN can be used to set up a new Riot account in a different region. Therefore, when you access your account through that login, you will be able to play matches with friends from that region. It is still the case that Riot states that a high ping and lag may occur during gameplay if you are connecting to faraway regions.
In case you want your items and skins to be the way that is moving across the different platforms, a Riot account must be linked. The steps are as follows:
Any time your progress, agents, and skins are linked, the sync will happen on its own. There will be one shared inventory between all platforms for you.
By using the same Riot ID on PS5 and Xbox, you can carry over the following:
On the other hand, your competitive rank and settings are specific to the platform. You will have to make the changes to sensitivity, controls, and graphics for each device separately.
Riot Games is still keeping the door open for the possibility of full crossplay at some point in the future. They’ve stated that they might add different cross-platform features if they can make the game equally fair for different input methods.
There’s a possibility that Valorant might allow custom crossplay modes or even different casual lobbies with a mix of players in the future. But the game is still designed for balance and skill level to be maintained until that moment.
At present, those playing on a console are in a position to make a toast; they have great crossplay between PS5 and Xbox, shared progression, and optimised controller gameplay that is optimized. On the other hand, PC players can maintain their competitive precision in a separate matchmaking pool.
So, is Valorant crossplay? A short answer would be, only partially. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S users can crossplay as per Riot Games' sports, but PC and console players cannot. Such an arrangement is intended to keep the games fair and gameplay balanced for different types of controls. Although crossplay is still not available, Riot is still working on cross-progression, console support, and mobile development. The future of Valorant crossplay is great, just not entirely linked yet.
For now, crossplay is only possible between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in Valorant. To ensure fair gameplay, PC players are matched only with other PC players.
No! PC and console players cannot play together in Valorant. Riot Games separates these groups to ensure fair play and to avoid giving an advantage to mouse and keyboard users.
Yes, Valorant facilitates cross-progression between PS5 and Xbox. Players can move skins, Battle Pass progress, and unlocked agents across the same Riot account. Still, competitive rank is the only thing that cannot be transferred between platforms.
Though Riot has not revealed the implementation of full crossplay, they are considering ways to ensure fairness to all players. If they can find a way to balance controller and PC gameplay, full crossplay could be there in the future.
