Overwatch Cross-Play Now Live: What You Need To Know

As announced earlier in the month, cross-play has arrived in Overwatch. Cross-play allows console players not only to group and find matches together regardless of platform, but it allows them to do the same with PC players too (with some restrictions, obviously). Cross-play is launching in beta today, but it's available to everyone who wants to sign up for it.

Cross-play is available on every platform that Overwatch itself is available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, as Blizzard announced at the beginning of the month, cross-play is arriving without cross-progression, meaning that if you play Overwatch on multiple platforms, you won't be able to sync content, unlocks, and account progress between those two platforms.

If you're on console, you'll need to take some steps before you can enable cross-play on your console. Specifically, you'll need to head to Battle.net and create an account. Once your account is created, you'll want to go into "Account Settings" and then select "Connections" to link your console to your account.

After that's done, you'll need to boot up Overwatch and navigate to the welcome screen, where you'll be presented with either an alpha-numeric code or a QR code. Follow the instructions for entering the code and login with your Battle.net account to finish linking your console game to your account, and you should be good to go. Of course, PC players don't have to do any of this since those on PC need a Battle.net account to play Overwatch in the first place.

As a reminder, everyone who logs into Overwatch between now and the end of the year will get a golden loot box to celebrate the arrival of cross-play. Blizzard has also put together an extensive FAQ about cross-play (which also features instructions on linking accounts), so be sure to check that out if you have any questions about what cross-play means for you as an Overwatch player.