Overwatch introducing cross-play between console and PC players

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller announced today that the game is getting PC and console cross-play soon, which will allow players on both console and PC to group up together to play Overwatch. 

Players on Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch can group up with PC players and play against other groups that consist of cross-play groups. 

Players on consoles must create a Battle.net account and link their account to their consoles. PC players don’t need to do this, as they already created a Battle.net account when they registered their PC version of Overwatch. 

How to link Battle.net account to console for Overwatch

Players can head to Battle.net to create their account. Once that is done, head to the Account Settings, click on the “Connections” setting under Account Settings, and it is there that players can link their consoles. Once cross-play is available, there are a number of steps players will have to take before they can participate in cross-play. Those instructions can be found on the FAQ for cross-play on the Overwatch website. 

In celebration of cross-play integration, players will also receive one golden lootbox, which is guaranteed to unlock a legendary item that the player hasn’t obtained yet. 

What Overwatch game modes are available for cross-play?

All game modes except for competitive play will be available for cross-play. Competitive players will be kept separate for balance purposes. 

Players can group up for any other game mode, which means that it will be easier for friends to play together. Any group consisting of both PC and console players will be placed into the PC matchmaking pool, and they will be matched up against other groups that are made up of cross-play players. 

Cross-play can be disabled at any time, and players should note that when cross-play goes live, it will be automatically enabled for all players. If players decide they want to disable the feature, they can do so by accessing the in-game menu. PC players cannot opt out of cross-play.

The impact this feature will have on console players is farily significant. They will most likely experience shorter queue times for all modes except Competitive. PC players shouldn’t notice much of a difference unless they group up with people who are playing on console. 

Keller did clarify that cross-progression was not going to be available upon launch, but would be added later.