Is Fortnite Cross-Platform? Cross-Play and Cross-Progression Explained

Fortnite is one of the easiest games in the world to play with friends, because it barely matters what anyone is playing on. A squad can be a PS5 player, a friend on a Nintendo Switch, someone on PC and a fourth on their phone, all dropping into the same match. That is cross-play, and Fortnite has supported it across every platform for years.

Which platforms can play together?

Every current version of Fortnite can play with every other one:

• PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
• Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
• Nintendo Switch
• Windows PC
• Mobile devices

It also applies to every mode, not just Battle Royale. LEGO Fortnite, Fortnite Festival and Creative islands all work the same way.

How to turn cross-play on

Cross-play is enabled by default, so most players never need to touch it. If you cannot join friends on other platforms, check the setting:

1. From the lobby, select your profile icon in the top right.
2. Open the sidebar and choose the gear icon to open Settings.
3. Move across to the Account and Privacy tab.
4. Scroll to the Gameplay Privacy section.
5. Make sure Allow Cross-Platform Play is set to Yes, then save before you exit.

On PC and mobile there is no off switch at all. Cross-play is mandatory there, which keeps matchmaking fast.

How to add friends on other platforms

Cross-play friendships run through Epic, not through PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. That means you add people by their Epic Games display name, not their console gamertag:

1. Make sure your console account is linked to an Epic Games account. Console players are prompted to do this, and PC players already have one because the launcher requires it.
2. In the Fortnite lobby, open the Social tab.
3. Search for your friend's Epic display name and send a friend request.
4. Once they accept, they appear in your Epic Friends list, and you can invite them to your party or join theirs, whatever device they are on.

Cross-progression: your stuff follows you

The same Epic account that powers cross-play also powers cross-progression. Your outfits, pickaxes, emotes, Battle Pass progress and account level live on the Epic account itself, so signing in on a different platform brings your whole locker with you. Epic's shared wallet means your V-Bucks balance is also available across the platforms linked to that account. The one thing to get right is the linking: if you play on PlayStation and later start on Xbox with a different Epic account, you effectively have two separate lockers.

Can you turn cross-play off?

On PlayStation you can toggle it in the in-game settings described above. On Xbox, the control sits in the console's own system privacy settings rather than in Fortnite, and it applies to cross-play games generally. On Switch, PC and mobile it cannot be turned off.

Think carefully before disabling it. With cross-play off, the game can only match you with players on your own platform who have also switched it off, so queue times stretch out and lobbies fill up with bots. There is another quirk worth knowing: when a mixed-platform party queues together, matchmaking is based on the highest-tier platform in the group. A console player who invites a PC friend should expect PC-flavoured lobbies.