When Fallout 76 crossplay first arrived in 2018, it wasn’t exactly the post-apocalyptic playground fans had envisioned. Server issues, gameplay bugs, and a general lack of polish left players wondering whether the game had been rushed out the vault. What was meant to be a bold new chapter for the Fallout 76 crossplay franchise ended up dividing the community—and shaking trust in Bethesda’s direction.
But time, as it often does in the Wasteland, has a strange way of smoothing out even the roughest craters. Over the years, Fallout 76 has grown into a different beast altogether. Through regular updates, community events, new questlines, and quality-of-life improvements, it’s managed a slow but steady comeback. Many who abandoned it early on have returned to find a surprisingly vibrant and cooperative online world, filled with mutated creatures, player camps, and shared stories of survival.
Yet despite this redemption arc of Fallout 76 crossplay, one major feature continues to elude the game’s player base: crossplay.
Even now, in 2025, when nearly every major multiplayer title offers some form of cross-platform functionality, Fallout 76 still keeps players locked into their original ecosystems. If your buddy’s playing on a PlayStation and you’re exploring Appalachia on an Xbox or a gaming PC—tough luck. You’re not teaming up anytime soon.
So why is this such a sticking point, and what’s standing in the way?
Fallout 76 Crossplay: What It Means—and What Fallout 76 Is Missing
Crossplay isn’t just a trendy feature or a checkbox for the back of a game box anymore. It’s become part of the baseline expectation in today’s multiplayer landscape. The idea is simple enough: players on different systems should be able to play together. Whether you’re gaming on an Xbox Series X, a PS5, or a mid-range gaming laptop, you should still be able to join your friends in the same online world.
And to be fair, many games are getting this right—Fortnite, Call of Duty, Rocket League, and Minecraft have set the standard. But Fallout 76, for reasons we’ll explore shortly, hasn’t made that leap.
Right now, each version of the game is essentially a self-contained universe. Xbox players roam their own servers. PlayStation players do the same. And PC users? They’re divided even further—those who purchased the game through Steam are separated from players who got it via the Microsoft Store or through Xbox Game Pass for PC.
To put it plainly, if your group of friends is spread across platforms, you’re stuck playing solo unless you all agree to invest in the same hardware. It’s a limitation that feels increasingly outdated in a time when platform barriers are crumbling across the industry.
Why Is Fallout 76 Crossplay a Big Deal in 2025?
In an online game built around cooperation, exploration, and the occasional chaotic firefight with a Deathclaw, playing with friends is a huge part of the draw. Locking that experience behind platform exclusivity doesn’t just inconvenience players—it actively discourages them from coming back or investing further.
Think about it: say you’ve put in hundreds of hours on PlayStation, but most of your friends recently picked up the game through Game Pass on Xbox or PC. There’s currently no way to bring your seasoned character into their world or even start a fresh journey together unless you’re willing to switch platforms—and lose all your progress in the process. It’s not just about crossplay anymore—it’s about feeling left out of a game you already love.
That Fallout 76 crossplay divide fragments the community. It also shortens the lifespan of the game’s player base. The fewer people you can interact with, the more isolated the world feels—and that’s the opposite of what Fallout 76 is trying to offer.
A Glimmer of Fallout 76 Crossplay: The PC–Xbox Link
Now, it’s not entirely hopeless. There’s a form of partial crossplay in the game—players using the Microsoft Store version on PC can group up and explore Appalachia with their friends on Xbox consoles. This connection is thanks to the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem, which treats PC and Xbox players more like cousins than strangers.
But here’s the catch: that compatibility doesn’t include players who purchased the game through Steam. If you’re on Steam, you’re cut off from Xbox and even Microsoft Store users. It’s a confusing setup and, for many players, an unnecessary limitation.
Cross-Progression? Still Missing in Action
Fallout 76 Crossplay isn’t the only missing piece—cross-progression is absent too. That means your character, loot, progress, and Atom Shop purchases are all locked to the platform you started with.
Say you’ve been playing on PlayStation but just bought a gaming PC and want to continue your adventure there—you can’t. You’d have to start fresh. No gear, no perks, no caps. It’s a frustrating reality for players who switch platforms, especially in a game that thrives on long-term investment and community-driven content.
Why Hasn’t Bethesda Flipped the Switch on Fallout 76 Crossplay?
The absence of crossplay and cross-progression isn’t for lack of trying. Bethesda has acknowledged interest in bringing these features to the game, but the technical and logistical barriers are steep.
For starters, Fallout 76 was never built with cross-platform functionality in mind. Retrofitting a game of this size—and one with such a unique server structure—isn’t a weekend project. It would require extensive backend reengineering and a lot of coordination with platform holders.
Then there’s the business side of things. Platform policies—especially in the early years of Fallout 76—posed a serious obstacle. Sony, for instance, was historically reluctant to embrace crossplay. While their stance has softened in recent years (thanks to games like Fortnite and Call of Duty), earlier resistance delayed integration for titles like Fallout 76 crossplay.
The Platform Divide: More Than Just Code
Even beyond technical hurdles, there are practical business considerations. Each platform has its own authentication system, player policies, and store ecosystems. Bethesda does have a unified account system, but integrating that with Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam simultaneously—and securely—is a massive undertaking.
And with every update or patch, maintaining synchronization across all platforms adds even more complexity. Balance issues, performance disparities, and cheating concerns all become exponentially more complicated when you’re trying to align three separate ecosystems.
Could Fallout 76 Crossplay Still Happen?
The good news? Fallout 76 crossplay is not completely off the table.
As platform policies become more open and development tools more advanced, the barriers to crossplay and cross-progression are slowly lowering. Games that once seemed unlikely to adopt these features—like Destiny 2—have made it work. And Bethesda has shown a willingness to improve Fallout 76 in meaningful ways over the years.
For Fallout 76 crossplay to happen, Bethesda would likely need to roll out a major backend overhaul and implement a universal progression system tied to Bethesda.net accounts. It’s a heavy lift—but not impossible.
So, Where Does That Leave Us in 2025?
As of now, there’s still no official word on when—or if—Fallout 76 will get full crossplay or cross-progression support. But with the gaming industry steadily moving toward unified experiences, the pressure on Bethesda continues to grow.
For the community, it’s a waiting game. Until then, Fallout 76 remains a game best enjoyed within the confines of your chosen platform—unless you happen to be in that small overlap between Xbox and Microsoft Store PC players.
Still, if there’s one thing Fallout fans are good at, it’s surviving in a world that isn’t always fair. Maybe, just maybe, crossplay will be the next big mutation in Appalachia.