Is The Outlast Trials crossplay? Platforms, explained

Yes, The Outlast Trials has full crossplay across every platform it shipped on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. A group of Reagents, the game's name for its co-op groups, can be spread across any mix of those systems in the same session.

There's one detail that sets it apart from most co-op horror. Everyone shares a single matchmaking pool tied to the game's own Friend Code, not to a PlayStation, Xbox, or Epic account, so who you can play with never depends on where you bought the game.

Below is the platform matrix, the enable-and-invite flow, and the part people mix up most: crossplay and cross-progression are two different features, and this game has one but not the other.

The platform matrix

Every listed platform connects to every other one. There's no PC-only pool and no last-gen split, so a PC player on Steam or the Epic Games Store lands in the same lobbies as a friend on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X|S.

That single pool went live for everyone with the 1.0 console launch. If you hunt for scares on PlayStation, our roundup of the best PS5 horror games has more to try. Before that, the game spent its Early Access run on PC only, which is why some older write-ups never mention consoles at all.

Cross-progression: your progress stays put

Here's the split that trips people up. Crossplay decides who you can play with; cross-progression would decide whether your account carries between systems, and The Outlast Trials does not have it.

Red Barrels said during Early Access that crossplay would ship without cross-progression, and that's held true through the 1.0 launch. Your Reagent level, unlocked items, and completion progress stay on the platform where you earned them.

So you can team up with anyone, but switching systems means a fresh start. Move from PC to console, or from PlayStation to Xbox, and none of that progress comes with you.

The practical takeaway is simple. Pick the platform you'll play most before you sink hours into leveling, because that's where your unlocks live for good. Dead by Daylight is another cross-platform co-op horror, as our Dead by Daylight crossplay guide covers.

How to play with friends across platforms

There's nothing to switch on. Crossplay is always active, so matchmaking already pulls from every platform the moment you queue.

To link up with a specific person on another system, you trade Friend Codes inside the game. Here's the flow we'd use to get a cross-platform group into one session:

• Open the Terminal in the Sleep Room, the game's hub between trials.
• Go to the Social tab to find your own Friend Code, and share it with your group.
• Enter a friend's Friend Code there to add them to your Reagent group, whatever they're playing on.

No Ubisoft, EA, Epic, or platform account link is needed for any of this. The Friend Code is the whole system, which is why a Steam player and an Xbox player can party up without connecting anything else.

Can you turn crossplay off?

Not at the moment. Red Barrels has not published a way to opt out, so crossplay is a fixed part of matchmaking on every platform.

If you specifically want same-platform lobbies, there's no toggle for it here. That's worth knowing up front if input differences with keyboard-and-mouse players are a concern for you.

Proximity voice chat across platforms

The Outlast Trials has built-in proximity voice chat, and it carries across crossplay lobbies the same way it works on a single platform. It's on by default, with a push-to-talk option, and the toggles for both live in the Audio menu.

The proximity part is the fun bit. Your voice comes through clearly up close, turns radio-like as a teammate moves away, and breaks up entirely at range, so staying near each other actually matters when the trial gets loud.

That holds no matter what everyone's playing on. A PC player and a console player in the same room hear each other on the same distance rules. Phasmophobia carries voice across VR and flat-screen the same way, as our Phasmophobia crossplay guide explains.

Does Xbox play with everyone?

Yes, and it's worth saying plainly because a claim floating around says the opposite. One low-quality source has stated that Xbox is walled off from crossplay in The Outlast Trials, and that's wrong.

Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S sit in the exact same matchmaking pool as PC and PlayStation. If you play on PC, our roundup of the best Steam horror games has plenty more co-op frights. The official confirmation from Red Barrels and every reliable source since the console launch agree on this, so an Xbox player can group with anyone on any platform. Escape the Backrooms is another co-op horror with full crossplay, as our guide on Escape the Backrooms crossplay covers.