Baldur's Gate 3 Crossplay: How It Works on PS5, Xbox, PC

Yes, Baldur's Gate 3 has crossplay: since Patch 8 on 15 April 2025, players on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S can share one party, and cross-save lets you carry a campaign between platforms through your Larian account. You switch it on from the Multiplayer menu and add friends by their Larian account username rather than their console or Steam name. Here is how setup, cross-save, split-screen and co-op sessions work as of November 2026.

For this guide we checked Larian's Patch 8 announcement as reported by RPG Site and Gematsu, GamesRadar's crossplay walkthrough, the bg3.wiki Multiplayer and patch history pages, and the PlayStation Blog's Patch 7 post.

Which Platforms Can Play Together

Crossplay covers every version of the game that exists: PC (Steam and GOG), Mac, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Larian described the feature as letting players party up with friends no matter what platform they play on, and paired it with full cross-save across the same four platforms.

It arrived late in the game's life. Baldur's Gate 3 launched on PC on 3 August 2023, on PS5 on 6 September 2023, on Mac on 22 September 2023 and on Xbox Series X|S on 7 December 2023, but crossplay only came with Patch 8, which Larian called its final major patch. Patch 8 also added photo mode and twelve new subclasses. Guides and forum posts written before April 2025 that say the game has no crossplay are simply out of date.

Mac players are included on equal terms. The Mac version arrived a few weeks after the PC launch, and with Patch 8 it joined the same crossplay pool, so a group can mix a MacBook, a PS5, an Xbox and a Windows PC in one party. Every platform also received the same Patch 8 content at the same time, which keeps versions aligned for co-op.

There is no PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version, so players on last-generation consoles cannot join. Steam Deck players run the PC version and connect the same way as any other PC player.

How to Turn On Crossplay

The setup is short, but the in-game explanation is thin, which is why so many players get stuck at the friend-invite step. GamesRadar's walkthrough lays out the order:

1. Make sure you are signed in to a Larian account in your copy of the game. Use the same Larian login on every platform you own the game on.
2. From the main menu, select Multiplayer.
3. Tab across to the Cross-play section.
4. Select Enable Cross-Play.
5. Add friends using their Larian account username, not their PlayStation, Xbox or Steam name.
6. Create a game as host, or join your friend's game, the same way you would in normal multiplayer.

Every player in the group needs crossplay enabled and a Larian account. The most common mistake is searching for a friend's gamertag or PSN ID; the cross-platform friends list only understands Larian usernames, so swap those before your first session.

Cross-Save: Carrying a Campaign Between Platforms

Cross-save is the quieter half of the update. If you log in to your Larian account on another platform's copy of the game, your saves can sync and download so you can keep playing where you left off. That means a campaign started on a PS5 can continue on a gaming PC or a Steam Deck.

Keep in mind who owns a co-op save. In multiplayer, only the host saves and loads, and the campaign cannot run without the host, although it can continue in single player. If your group rotates hosts, agree on one host per campaign so the save lives in one place.

Xbox players picked up one more convenience later. According to the bg3.wiki patch history, the update released on 3 August 2026 made the game available on Xbox Play Anywhere, the program that ties an Xbox console purchase to the Windows version. The most recent update listed on that history as of November 2026 is dated 29 September 2026.

How a Co-op Session Works Once You Connect

Crossplay does not change the core multiplayer rules, so it helps to know them before the group sits down:

• Up to four players can share one campaign: the host plus three others.
• Every player counts toward the party limit of four, so a full group of four leaves no room for companions in the field.
• No two players can choose the same origin, including the Dark Urge.
• Players who join after the campaign starts can only create custom characters, because origins are chosen at the start.
• Companions in the party can only be spoken to by the player controlling them, and each companion tracks approval separately for each player.
• Session settings such as visibility reset when you return to the main menu, and the default visibility is Friends Only.

Players are free to wander off and handle their own conversations, so groups usually agree in advance on who speaks for the party in big story moments. If your group is splitting up companions, our companion recruitment guide shows who joins when.

Picking the Right Host for a Crossplay Group

In a mixed-platform group, the host matters more than the platform. The host is the only player who saves and loads, the campaign cannot continue without them, and their session settings are what everyone else joins. That makes the choice of host a practical decision rather than a matter of who owns the best hardware.

Pick the player who is most reliably available. If the host misses a night, nobody else can load the campaign, so a friend with an unpredictable schedule is a poor choice even if they have the fastest PC. It also helps if the host is the most patient player in the group, because they control the save points that everyone falls back on after a bad fight.

The host also manages the roster. A full party blocks new players from joining, so the host may need to drop a companion before a friend can connect. When someone cannot make a session, the wiki notes that their character can be sent to Withers' Wardrobe of Wayward Friends through dialogue, which frees the slot without deleting anyone's hero. Because session settings such as visibility reset every time the host returns to the main menu, it is worth checking them at the start of each night.

Finally, if the host plays on PC with mods, their load order decides what the campaign contains. A console player joining that save needs access to the same content, which is one more reason to agree on mods before character creation rather than after.

Split-Screen and Couch Co-op

Split-screen is separate from crossplay. It lets two people play on one console with two controllers, and it was improved in Patch 7, which reached consoles on 1 October 2024 with dynamic split-screen: the two halves of the screen merge when the characters are close and separate again when they wander apart.

Xbox Series S players went without it for a long time. Larian could not get split-screen running on the less powerful console at launch, and Microsoft gave the studio the option to leave it out. Split-screen support for Series S came with Patch 8 after being tested in the Patch 8 stress test.

If one of you is on a Series S and split-screen still refuses to start, check that the console has installed the latest update, since the feature arrived with Patch 8 rather than at launch.

Before You Start a Mixed-Platform Campaign

A few decisions are easier to make before the first session than halfway through Act Two.

• Difficulty: settle on one up front. Honour Mode's single save and its tougher bosses feel very different with four people, so read our difficulty and Honour Mode guide first.
• Mods: console mods go through an extra curation process, and Larian said not all PC mods will become available on console. A PC host's mod list can therefore include mods that console friends cannot install, so keep a mixed group's list to mods everyone can get. Our mod guide explains how the in-game manager works on each platform.
• Achievements: installing mods can turn achievements off for that playthrough, which matters if anyone in the group is chasing trophies. The achievement roadmap lists which ones are worth planning around.

Character creation is the other thing to coordinate. Origins cannot be shared, so decide who plays Astarion, Karlach or the Dark Urge before anyone loads in, and make sure late arrivals know they will be making a custom character. A balanced group of four covers healing, frontline damage, ranged damage and a talker with high Charisma for dialogue checks.

Finally, write down everyone's Larian username in your group chat. It sounds trivial, but it saves the first twenty minutes of every new campaign.

Want It Done for You?

Co-op campaigns often stall because one player is far behind the others on gear or levels. The store's Baldur's Gate 3 page lists a modded starter save with a stocked camp chest, level 12 companions and max gold for players who want to jump straight to a high-level party, plus a PS5 platinum trophy service for collectors. You need to own the game yourself, and each listing states which platforms it covers.

Frequently Asked Questions