Is Fortnite Cross Platform? – How to play with friends

Fortnite is available across just about every console and platform. It’s the most fun though when you’re playing with friends, trying to take out an entire lobby of players together. With so many different versions of Fortnite though, a lot of players can’t just jump into games together. At least not without knowing is Fortnite cross platform and how everything works.

There are problems with crossplay though, like players being matched with others on much more powerful hardware. Not even the best Fortnite settings can get around the FPS difference between PC and some consoles. So can it be turned off and is there any limitations for playing cross-platform with friends? In recent years, Epic has actually made some new restrictions on crossplay that could be frustrating players.

Source: Github

Is Fortnite Cross Platform?

If you’re wondering is Fortnite cross platform? The answer is yes. Every single platform of Fortnite can play with one another. The latest Fortnite news even indicates a comeback for mobile, which will have crossplay too. Epic has been pretty strongly committed to keeping Fortnite crossplay working everywhere.

For a while, crossplay was an optional feature. It was used to sort you into lobbies with your friends. Platforms were largely separate though since hardware so different. That’s not the case any more though.

Is Fortnite Cross Platform by Default?

Cross platform play is the standard in Fortnite, at least on some platforms. PS5 and Xbox now have crossplay optional. However, it is turned on by default. PC has it off by default, as it’s where a lot of the Fortnite player base is. However, Switch has cross play turned on now, and you can’t turn it off. For some reason, the only platform hard-locked at 30FPS is also hard-locked into mouse and keyboard lobbies running the game at 200+ FPS. That’s how it works for Zero Builds and Battle Royale.

Whether or not Fortnite is cross platform is a different question for competitive players. Ranked mode is crossplay. This isn’t optional either. It wasn’t always the case, but Epic eventually got sick of funding prize pools for their many tournaments on every single platform and every single region. There’s now one Fortnite competitive mode, unless tournaments are platform specific they’re also crossplay.

There’s also the matter of player-created mode. Creative mode tends to be crossplay. As are Fortnite Lego and Rocket Racing. This is likely down to matchmaking times. Other LTMs and modes are also cross play by default. If you’ve ever been beamed by a player in team rumble, a much higher FPS along with a mouse and keyboard is probably to blame.

How to Play Fortnite Crossplay

How do you play with friends across platforms? Once you ready up with a friend on a different platform, you’ll be automatically entered into a cross play lobby. Even if you have it turned off (where possible), you’ll be automatically moved over. Epic does this by sorting by the higher-powered hardware in the Duo. They rank the various platforms like this:

1. PC
2. PlayStation and Xbox
3. Switch and Mobile

That’s when matchmaking is functioning well. Switch and PC are increasingly sharing lobbies thanks to the smaller player base on the handheld though.

The highest platform that a party member is on will make up most of your lobby. Keep this in mind for Fortnite cross platform games! Nothing is changed across different versions of Fortnite. All Fortnite skins are available and quests all still track. (Although, V Bucks purchased on some consoles won’t appear on different platforms) It’s great to jump into games with friends no matter what you’re playing on and you can do it easily in Fortnite.