Sea of Thieves has full crossplay across PC, Xbox, and PS5, and it's on by default for everyone. Every platform shares one matchmaking pool tied to your Microsoft account, so a crew can mix PC, Xbox, and PS5 players in the same voyage without setting anything up.
The catch is the opt-out. Xbox and PS5 players can nudge matchmaking toward console players on controllers, but it's a soft preference rather than a true off switch, and PC players don't get that option at all.
One thing trips people up more than the platform list, and it's the mix-up we see most: crossplay and cross-progression are two different features. We'll answer both separately below, because whether your crew mixes platforms and whether your Gold follows you between them are not the same question.
Which platforms share a crew
Every current version of Sea of Thieves sits in one crossplay pool. That covers PC on Steam and the Microsoft Store, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, all matched together by default.
| Platforms | Play together? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PC + Xbox + PS5 | Yes | One shared crossplay pool across all platforms by default, tied to a Microsoft account used for sign-in on every version, including PS5. |
| Xbox / PS5 controller-preference opt-out | Yes | Console players can flip a matchmaking preference to favor console players on controllers, which reduces PC and mouse-and-keyboard opponents. It's a soft preference, not a hard block, so the system can still fill a lobby with crossplay opponents when no console-only match is available. |
| PC opt-out | No | PC players can't disable crossplay or filter by input, so they're always in the combined pool. |
The Microsoft account is the thread that ties it together. Sea of Thieves is one of our picks for the best multiplayer Xbox games if you sail from an Xbox. It's the sign-in on every version, PS5 included, which is what lets one pool span all three platforms.
The opt-out is a preference, not an off switch
Here's the part worth getting right. The console setting is a matchmaking preference for console players on controllers, not a switch that removes PC from your game entirely.
Set it, and matchmaking will favor console-only lobbies where it can. When no console-only match is available, it can still fall back to a mixed crossplay lobby, so you might see PC crewmates or opponents anyway.
PC players have no equivalent. There's no input filter and no crossplay toggle on PC, so a PC account is always in the full cross-platform pool.
Cross-progression is the other half of the question
Yes, Sea of Thieves has cross-progression, and it's the feature people most often confuse with crossplay. It's automatic and tied to the Microsoft account you sign in with, not a separate thing to switch on for Xbox and PC. Minecraft ties its crossplay to the same Microsoft account, as our Minecraft crossplay guide covers.
On PS5 there's one setup step: you link a Microsoft account during first setup, and that link is what carries your progress. Once it's linked, everything travels with the account.
What syncs is the full profile: character level, Reputation, Commendations, Renown, your currencies (Gold, Doubloons, and Ancient Coins), and your cosmetics, all shared across PC, Xbox, and PS5. So crossplay decides who's in your crew, and cross-progression decides whether that crew's progress follows you to another system.
How to play together across platforms
There's nothing to enable. Sign in with the same Microsoft account on whichever platform you're on, and matchmaking already pulls from every platform.
To crew up with friends, invite them through the in-game crew or friends menu regardless of what they play on. A PC player, an Xbox player, and a PS5 player can sail as one crew with no extra step. Grounded is another Xbox-family co-op with crossplay, as our guide on Grounded's crossplay shows.
How to turn crossplay off
This is a console-only option, and it's the console-preference toggle rather than a full off switch. On Xbox or PS5, open Settings > Matchmaking and set the controller or console-only preference.
Keep the limit in mind: it favors console-only opponents but can still fail over to a mixed lobby, so it won't guarantee a PC-free session. PC players can't disable crossplay at all, so a console-only feel has to be set on the console side.
Voice chat across platforms
In-game proximity chat and crew voice work across PC, Xbox, and PS5. They run through the same matchmaking and party system, so a mixed crew can talk without a third-party app.
That means your PS5 crewmate and your PC crewmate hear the same proximity chat as anyone else nearby, with nothing extra to set up.
What some guides get wrong
The most common miss we see is calling the console setting a crossplay off switch. It's a preference that favors console players on controllers, and it can still drop you into a mixed lobby, so it isn't the hard block some write-ups describe.
The other one is the PS5 sign-in. Playing on PS5 still runs through a linked Microsoft account, which is both how crossplay works and how your progress carries across platforms. On PlayStation, our roundup of the best multiplayer games on PS5 has more crews to join. For another four-player co-op run, our Deep Rock Galactic crossplay guide covers how its squads connect.
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