Squad up across PlayStation, Xbox, PC (and sometimes Switch or mobile): ten cross‑play standouts that make “What are you on?” a non‑issue.
10) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (2020)
If your group chat needs a low‑stress icebreaker, few things beat Fall Guys. This 60‑bean obstacle‑course royale trades headshots for slapstick, with short rounds, approachable controls, and a constant drip of new courses and limited‑time shenanigans. Cross‑play and cross‑progression mean your bean’s cosmetics and crowns follow you wherever you log in, and assembling a party is simple thanks to Epic accounts. The tone is bright and welcoming, but don’t underestimate the skill ceiling—grabbing perfect cycles, timing dives, and reading physics on seesaws and fans can get spicy, especially in Squads. It’s also a great “drop‑in” game for mixed‑experience groups: eliminations are fast, queues are snappy, and even losses usually earn kudos and laughs. Whether you’re trying creative community levels or chasing the Crown in finales, Fall Guys is the coziest way to get everyone playing together in minutes—and it runs everywhere that matters, with full cross‑platform parties.
9) Street Fighter 6 (2023)
Fighters often split friends across platforms; Street Fighter 6 fixes that with excellent cross‑play and smooth netcode. The generous training tools, modern control scheme, and playful Battle Hub make it unusually welcoming, while the classic “deep end” is still there for lab monsters. The result is a game that’s equally good for Friday‑night lobbies and serious sets. Its social features shine with friends: host custom rooms, run Winner‑Stays brackets, or just spar while chatting in the Hub arcade. The competitive scene loves it too—SF6 won Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2023 and D.I.C.E. 2024—so it’s the safest pick if your crew wants a versus staple that will stay active for years. Whether you’re on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, cross‑platform matchmaking just works, and your Capcom ID makes it easy to connect with friends on other systems.
8) Sea of Thieves (2018)
Eight years on, Sea of Thieves remains multiplayer magic—equal parts pirate sim, improv comedy, and emergent heist drama. In 2024 it finally added PlayStation 5, completing the triangle with Xbox and PC and enabling full cross‑play fleets. That’s huge: now any crew can sail together, run Tall Tales, dig up Athena voyages, or simply vibe to shanties while fishing at sunset. The game scales naturally with group size—duo sloops feel intimate and tense; galleon crews become chaos engines. The social systems help mixed‑platform crews too: an integrated friends list surfaces PSN and Xbox friends, and invites work cleanly across ecosystems. For newer pirates, “Safer Seas” lets you learn the ropes without PvP until you’re ready. With seasonal content drops and community events, it’s as welcoming in 2025 as it’s ever been—and at its best when your whole friend group, regardless of platform, piles onto the same deck.
7) Apex Legends (2019)
If your squad wants silky shooting, brilliant movement, and hero‑driven tactics, Apex Legends remains elite—and now it plays nicer than ever across platforms. Cross‑play is enabled by default across PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC, so assembling a three‑stack is painless. Cross‑progression also landed, letting you carry cosmetics and unlocks wherever you go once you link your accounts. Fights feel distinct thanks to varied legends (movement maestros, controller‑friendly sentinels, support specialists), and the famous ping system keeps comms clean even when mics are muted. Rotating limited‑time modes keep casual nights fresh; ranked rewards sweat. Importantly for mixed skill levels, Apex is generous with respawns and comeback mechanics, which help friends stay in the action instead of watching. In 2025, its seasonal cadence, map refreshes, and steady anti‑cheat updates make it a safe, always‑on choice when the group wants high‑tempo, high‑polish squad play—no matter who’s on what.
6) Call of Duty: Warzone (2020)
The free‑to‑play Warzone is still the easiest way to drop 100+ friends and strangers into the same pop‑culture‑scale playground—with full cross‑play between PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Activision’s universal account system underpins it: link your profiles and your progression follows you, and finding friends by Activision ID works across platforms. Warzone’s modes—traditional BR, Resurgence, and frequent seasonal events—accommodate different group sizes, while private matches and quads keep parties together. If your crew is split on input devices, console players have the option to tune cross‑play in certain playlists, but the point is simple: you can always squad up regardless of hardware. With 2025’s seasonal integrations keeping maps, weapons, and modes in rotation, Warzone remains a backbone of cross‑platform play nights, and a crowd‑pleaser when you need a familiar, fast‑queue shooter that everyone owns.
5) Diablo IV (2023)
For groups who love synergy—one friend kiting mobs while another detonates them, a third dropping barriers—Diablo IV is the perfect cross‑platform co‑op comfort food. It supports full cross‑play across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and your characters ride along via cross‑progression when you link accounts. That makes it easy to hop from couch to desk to cloud without ditching your party. Seasonal content adds new builds to explore together, and World Tiers let mixed‑experience groups find a common challenge level. Console players can even run couch co‑op while also joining friends online, turning a living‑room duo into a larger cross‑platform squad. In short: pick classes that complement each other, lean into your roles, and chew through dungeons, Helltides, and boss rotations as a team. With its blend of quick‑hit sessions and marathon loot grinds, Diablo IV is evergreen “let’s play something” material for any cross‑play crew.
4) Minecraft (2011)
Old? Yes. Irreplaceable? Also yes. Minecraft is the most flexible “friends game” ever made—and the Bedrock Edition’s cross‑play means almost anyone can join your world from Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC, or mobile. Want a low‑friction, always‑on server for your circle? Realms (Bedrock) is the official, cross‑platform way to keep a persistent world humming; hop in for 20 minutes or 2 hours and always make progress together. Creative mega‑builds, survival bases, minigames, adventure maps—Minecraft scales to your group’s mood and time. The key detail for 2025: Bedrock is the edition that unifies platforms (Java remains PC‑only, though it’s bundled on Windows). If your crew spans consoles and phones, choose Bedrock and you’re set. The result is the ultimate “home base” for multi‑platform friendships: a server you can return to for years, a place where projects grow, and where everyone can log in from anything they own.
3) Helldivers 2 (2024)
Part satire, part spectacular co‑op shooter, Helldivers 2 turned teamwork into slapstick art—screaming for extraction while a friend accidentally napalms the LZ feels like a rite of passage. In 2025, it’s also fully cross‑play across PS5, PC, and Xbox, so any trio or quartet can drop into the same warzone and “spread managed democracy” together. Squad roles naturally emerge—one player calls precision Stratagems, another runs objectives, another babysits ammo—and the friendly‑fire‑always‑on chaos keeps nights lively. Arrowhead’s live‑ops cadence (even with recent stability‑first pauses) means ongoing mutations, gadgets, and warfront beats, and the community riffs on objectives like it’s an MMO raid. The biggest win, though, is accessibility: it’s outrageously fun whether your group is casual or sweaty, and now your platform no longer matters. If your crew wants cooperative heroics with a side of comedy, this is 2025’s cross‑play poster child.
2) Fortnite (2017)
Fortnite isn’t just a battle royale; it’s a platform for play. Between Battle Royale, Zero Build, Creative/UGC worlds, and music or racing modes, your friends can pick a vibe and instantly match into something fun together. Cross‑platform support is exhaustive—PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, and Android—and toggling cross‑play is as simple as a menu switch if you need it. Epic’s account system carries cosmetics and progress wherever you log in, and it’s trivial to party up with friends on other systems. For mixed‑skill groups, Fortnite is ideal: Zero Build removes the mechanical ceiling of turbo‑building, Creative maps offer bite‑sized co‑op, and LTMs keep things rotating. It’s also the most “default install” game around, which makes it great for reconnecting with old friends—you can count on everyone having it. When you want infinite variety and low friction across platforms, Fortnite remains the cross‑play king.
1) Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)
The best cross‑platform game to play with friends in 2025 is an epic CRPG that rewards conversation as much as combat. Baldur’s Gate 3 now supports full cross‑play across PC, PS5, and Xbox (added in its 2025 “Final Patch”), so you can bring a four‑adventurer party together across any combo of platforms. Co‑op isn’t an afterthought; it’s the heart of the experience. Coordinating stealth approaches, chaining spells, arguing (politely) over dialogue options—playing BG3 with friends feels like a tabletop night that keeps surprising you. The writing, performance capture, and systemic depth are outrageously generous, and the game’s awards haul—including 2023’s Game of the Year at The Game Awards—backs that up. If your group can commit to a campaign, there’s nothing else like it in games: a sprawling, reactive adventure that becomes a shared story you’ll tell for years—and now nobody is left out by hardware.
Note: Live‑service games evolve quickly; check the linked official pages for the most current cross‑play details before you dive in with friends.
