Crossplay in Sea of Thieves explained: Can you play across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation?

Many players have wondered if there is crossplay in Sea of Thieves. To put it short, yes, Rare's popular pirate title allows crossplay between all platforms. With the game set to make its grand debut on the PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2024, it will finally have all the major platforms available for crossplay.

Although the game does have crossplay, console players often prefer to have this feature turned off for various reasons. This article explains how the crossplay in Sea of Thieves works, and why console players choose to stay away from PC matchmaking, despite the game fully allowing it.

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The current state of crossplay in Sea of Thieves

Currently, Sea of Thieves offers crossplay between PC and Xbox users only. Xbox Series X|S are also accounted for in this category.

The PlayStation 5 closed beta was run on PS5-only servers for testing purposes. However, once the game fully launches on April 30, 2024, for PlayStation 5 players globally, it will embrace true crossplay by enabling them from all three platforms to join a single server.

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Cross-progression in Sea of Thieves

New Checkmate Collections coming to Sea of Thieves in Season 12 (Image via Rare)

Sea of Thieves implements a rather seamless method to allow for cross-progression. No matter the platform, the game requires you to sign in via a Microsoft account.

Connecting your Microsoft account to the gaming platforms allows sharing of the progress and any in-game items like pirate costumes, ship sets, or pets across all the platforms it supports. You can use your favorite ship sets or curses across all platforms.

You can now buy skins from the Checkmate Collection which is launching with Sea of Thieves Season 12, and use the skins across all platforms with ease.

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How to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves?

Disabling crossplay feature in Xbox consoles (Image via Rare || FirstMateBryce on YouTube)

Crossplay in Sea of Thieves is enabled by default. The method to disable this feature varies for each platform. Here's how to disable this feature on each platform:

How to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves on PC?

For PC players, there is no direct way to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves. The only method to disable it on a PC is to log in with the same profile on PS5 or Xbox and turn it off there. Crossplay will subsequently be deactivated across all platforms.

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How to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves on Xbox?

There are two ways to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves and avoid playing against keyboard and mouse users. The first appears in the game's settings.

• Go to Settings, and select Matchmaking Preferences.
• Enable "Prefer Xbox Players with Controllers".

If you enable this, the likelihood of you joining a game with a keyboard and mouse player will be reduced, but it remains possible.

The other method is to go to your Xbox settings (and not game settings) and completely disable crossplay from there. However, this change will be reflected in all games on your Xbox and not just Sea of Thieves. So it might not be the best option out there.

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How to disable crossplay in Sea of Thieves on PlayStation 5?

Since the game is not currently out on the PlayStation 5, information on how crossplay can be disabled is unavailable. It is speculated there will be a separate matchmaking preference setting like Xbox consoles, but nothing is confirmed.

This section will be updated as Sea of Thieves launches on the PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2024.

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Why do console players prefer to have crossplay disabled in Sea of Thieves?

Most console players turn this option off, despite the game allowing this feature. The reason for this is, unfortunately, hackers. The PC servers of Sea of Thieves are infested with pesky hackers who promise an annoying experience with every encounter.

Although Sea of Thieves recently integrated Easy Anti-Cheat into their games, many covert hackers go undetected and disrupt the playing experience for players.