Is Monster Hunter Wilds Crossplay? Every Platform Explained

Yes, Monster Hunter Wilds is fully crossplay between PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it was the first game in the series to connect every version it launched on. What it does not have is cross-save, so your hunter, gear and story progress stay on the platform where you made them. As of November 2026 a Nintendo Switch 2 version is also due on December 4 with cross-play support, which makes the rules below worth knowing before you invite anyone.

We checked these details against Kotaku's crossplay guide, Game8's multiplayer pages, Gematsu's Switch 2 announcement coverage, the PlayStation Blog and Wikipedia's release history in November 2026.

Which Platforms Can Play Together

Monster Hunter Wilds released on February 28, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, and Wikipedia notes it is the first entry in the series to support cross-platform play between all of its versions. In practice that means a hunter on a PS5 can join a friend on Steam and a third player on an Xbox Series S in the same quest, with no separate servers or versions to worry about. Earlier games kept each console family in its own bubble, which is why so many longtime players ask the question before buying.

The Switch 2 is the next piece. Gematsu reports that the Nintendo Switch 2 version launches December 4, 2026 with full cross-play support for online hunts, plus local wireless play with other Switch 2 systems in the same room. It also ships with all of the Title Update content released so far, including the Grand Hub, Lagiacrus and the Final Fantasy XIV collaboration, so a Switch 2 hunter will be able to take the same quests as everyone else rather than lagging behind on an older build. Until the launch actually happens, treat the finer points of Switch 2 matchmaking as announced rather than tested.

• PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam): crossplay since launch day.
• Nintendo Switch 2: announced with cross-play for December 4, 2026.
• Last-generation consoles: there is no PS4 or Xbox One version of Wilds, so they are not part of the pool.

Turning Crossplay On or Off

Crossplay is switched on by default, so most players never touch it. If you want to change it, Kotaku recommends opening Game Settings from the main menu rather than from the in-game pause menu, then scrolling down the first tab to the Crossplay option. Game8 describes the same setting under Options, then Game Settings, then Crossplay. Turning it off limits you to players on your own platform family.

There are reasons to switch it off. Some players simply want smaller, quieter lobbies, and some prefer to keep text chat to people they share a platform with. The catch is that the setting affects everyone in your group. Kotaku warns that your entire squad needs crossplay enabled to use every multiplayer feature, including Squads, so if one friend has turned it off, invitations and shared lobbies stop behaving the way you expect. When a group cannot see each other, the crossplay toggle is the first thing to compare.

There is also a quest-level setting that trips people up. Game8 points out that when you post a multiplayer quest you choose who can join, and if that option is not set to include other platforms, players outside your own platform will never see it. If you are hosting for a mixed group, set the quest to All Platforms before you post it.

How to Party Up With Friends on Other Platforms

You cannot start co-op immediately. According to Kotaku, multiplayer opens during Chapter 1 at the second story mission, Back to Camp, which most players reach in under an hour. Everyone in the group needs to reach that point on their own save before you can hunt together, so a friend who just installed the game should play the opening first.

Once multiplayer is open, the tools are the same on every platform. Game8 explains that sharing your Hunter ID is the simplest way for someone on another system to add you as a friend or pull you into a party. A Link Party groups you with hunters who may be sitting in different lobbies, and an Environment Link brings them into your instance of the world so you can track and fight monsters together instead of only meeting at the quest board. Lobbies themselves are large: Kotaku notes that up to 100 players can share one, and with crossplay enabled you can party with any of them.

1. Each player reaches Back to Camp in Chapter 1.
2. Confirm everyone has crossplay turned on in Game Settings.
3. Swap Hunter IDs and add each other.
4. Form a Link Party, then use Environment Link to share the same world.
5. Post or join quests with the platform option set to All Platforms.

Voice chat works across platforms as well. Game8 says it is enabled in the Audio tab of the Options menu, with an optional push-to-talk setting for keyboard players, and you can choose which link or quest members hear you. Many groups still use an outside voice app, but the built-in option means a mixed group does not need one.

No Cross-Save: What Stays on Your Platform

This is the part that catches people out. Crossplay lets you hunt with anyone, but Kotaku is clear that Wilds does not support cross-save: your progress, story data and character creation stay on the platform where you created them. If you started on PS5 and later buy the Steam version, you begin again with a fresh hunter, and anything you bought on one store stays on that store.

That has a few practical consequences worth planning around:

• Pick your main platform before you sink in serious hours. Hunter Rank, crafted gear and decorations do not follow you.
• If you play on a laptop or Steam Deck as well as a console, you are effectively maintaining two separate hunters.
• When the Switch 2 version arrives, buying it is a new start, not a portable copy of your current save.
• Friends on different platforms can still hunt together every night; only the save files are separate.

If you are deciding where to put your time, our Title Update history shows how much content a new hunter now has to work through, which matters if you are restarting on a second system.

The Grand Hub, Support Hunters and Big Fights

Crossplay matters most in the shared social spaces that arrived after launch. The Grand Hub came with Title Update 1 in April 2025, and RPGSite's roadmap notes that it unlocks at Hunter Rank 16 by speaking to Tetsuzan in Suja. It gathers players from every platform in one place for arena quests and leaderboards, so it is the easiest spot to find a cross-platform group for a difficult hunt.

You are not forced into online play, though. Title Update 2 added the option to choose which Support Hunters you summon, and when Title Update 4 brought in Gogmazios, the PlayStation Blog explained that its hunt allows up to four players plus four Support Hunters, a team of eight. If your friends are offline, NPC hunters can fill the gaps. Our Gogmazios unlock guide covers how that fight is structured.

Patch 1.042 in August 2026 went further for solo players. RPGSite's patch summary says it made all of the event quests and Challenge Quests available at the time playable offline, so a broken connection no longer locks you out of event gear.

Common Crossplay Problems and Fixes

Most failed invites in a mixed group come from a short list of causes. Work through them in order before assuming something is broken:

• Someone has crossplay off. Check the toggle on every player's main menu Game Settings, not just yours.
• Story progress. A friend who has not reached Back to Camp cannot join yet.
• Quest visibility. A quest posted for your platform only will not appear to the others.
• Wrong ID. Copy Hunter IDs exactly rather than retyping them from a blurry screenshot, since one wrong character sends the request to nobody.
• Not linked yet. Being in the same lobby is not enough to share a world; form the Link Party and then accept the Environment Link.

Matchmaking also tends to feel smoother with crossplay left on, simply because the pool of players posting SOS flares is larger. If you turned it off for a quieter lobby and find hunts slow to fill, switching it back on is the quickest fix. Mixed groups also benefit from agreeing on a build plan before the hunt; our character creation guide is a lighter read for the night when the whole group is starting fresh together.

Finally, remember that a new platform means new paid add-ons. Cosmetic DLC bought on one store does not unlock on another, and the same applies to the expansion. Steam already lists Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance with a planned 2027 release, and Gematsu reports it adds Master Rank and the Skybound Eyrie, so the hunter you build now is the one you will carry into that content on that platform.

Starting on a Second Platform Without the Grind

Because nothing carries over, players who move from Xbox to PC or add a PlayStation copy often face the full climb again. If you would rather join your friends at their level straight away, the store's Monster Hunter Wilds Full Account Boost applies a modded save to the profile you already play on. Its page lists three character slots (two with all main and side quests cleared and one fresh starter), every weapon and armor unlocked including R8 armor sets, 9,000 of each crafting material, 90 of each decoration and all layered armor.

Be clear about the limits: the page says it works on PC and PlayStation only, so it is not an option for Xbox players, and you are not buying a separate account. Other Monster Hunter saves and services are listed on the Monster Hunter store page.

Frequently Asked Questions