If you’ve been sinking hours into the 2026 expanded release of Where Winds Meet like I have, you’ve probably wondered if you can team up with friends who own the game on different consoles or PC. Figuring out where winds meet crossplay functionality works isn’t always obvious at first glance, especially with the recent rollout of regional server updates this year. I’ve spent the last two weeks testing crossplay across every supported platform, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know to play with anyone, no matter what device they use.
Where Winds Meet Crossplay Supported Platforms for 2026
Before you try to set up crossplay, it’s important to know which devices are actually supported as of the 2026 Q2 game patch. The dev team has expanded support a lot since the game’s initial launch, but older generation consoles are no longer included in crossplay lobbies to keep performance stable for all users. Below is the full list of platforms that support crossplay right now:
You might be wondering why older generation consoles are left out of 2026 crossplay support. The dev team noted in their Q1 2026 patch notes that PS4 and Xbox One hardware can’t keep up with the updated netcode required for stable cross-platform play, so they made the call to phase out crossplay support for those devices to avoid ruining the experience for other players. If you own an older console, you can still play multiplayer with other PS4 or Xbox One users, but you won’t be able to connect with players on newer devices. Cross-progression is tied to your WWM account, not your platform account, so you can carry over your character progress across devices if you link your accounts, even if you don’t use crossplay.
How to Enable and Set Up Crossplay in 2026
Setting up crossplay only takes a few minutes once you know where to find the right settings. When you boot up the game for the first time after installing the 2026 update, you’ll get a pop-up asking if you want to enable crossplay. If you skipped that pop-up, you can find the crossplay toggle in the Online Settings tab of the main menu, right under the server region selector. You’ll need to have a verified WWM account to use crossplay, not just a platform account, so make sure you sign up for one or link your existing account when prompted.
Once crossplay is enabled, inviting friends from other platforms is simple, but there’s one common mistake most new players make. You can’t invite crossplay friends using their platform username (like a PlayStation Gamertag or Steam ID). You have to use their unique 12-digit WWM player ID, which you can find in the top right corner of the main menu right under your account name. I made this mistake myself when I first tried to invite my friend who plays on Xbox. I entered his Xbox gamertag, and it took me 10 minutes to figure out that I needed his WWM ID instead. It’s a good idea to share this ID with your friends ahead of time if you plan on playing crossplay together regularly. If you don’t want to play with users from other platforms for any reason, you can toggle crossplay off at any time, and you’ll only be matched with players on the same device as you.
Common Crossplay Issues and 2026 Fixes
Even with the 2026 stability updates, you might run into a few small issues when using crossplay. Most of these are easy to fix in less than a minute if you know what to adjust. The most common issue I heard about during testing was crossplay invites not showing up for either user. That usually happens if one of you has crossplay disabled, or if you’re on different regional servers. The fix is to make sure everyone has crossplay toggled on, and set your server region to Global instead of your local region if you’re playing with friends overseas. I ran into this issue myself when I was testing crossplay with my friend in Japan. I was on the North American server, and he was on the East Asia server, so none of our invites would go through. As soon as we both switched to the Global server, the invites popped up immediately, and we had no lag issues after that.
Another common issue is random lag spikes during crossplay sessions. This is almost always caused by one player having a slow internet connection, but you can reduce lag by turning off cross-region matching if you’re only playing with people in the same country. If you’re still having connection issues after adjusting your server settings, try restarting your router and verifying your game files, that fixes 90% of the remaining problems according to the official 2026 support documentation. The last common issue is friends not appearing on your crossplay friends list, which is almost always because you haven’t linked your WWM account to your platform account correctly. Head to the official WWM account page to double check your linked accounts, and make sure you’re using the same email for all linked accounts.
Is Crossplay Enabled for Ranked Play in 2026?
A lot of competitive players reach out to me asking if crossplay works for ranked matches, since cross-platform play can sometimes feel unbalanced if not set up correctly. The short answer is yes, crossplay is enabled for ranked play in 2026, but there are a few important caveats to know about first. First, Nintendo Switch 2 players are not included in crossplay ranked lobbies right now, because the Switch 2 version runs at a lower 30fps cap compared to the 60fps cap on all other platforms. The dev team decided to keep Switch 2 ranked players in their own pool to keep competition fair, but they’ve said they’re looking into adding crossplay ranked support for Switch 2 later in 2026 if they can get the frame rate up to match other devices.
Most players’ biggest worry about crossplay ranked is that controller players will be matched against mouse and keyboard players, which would give the M&K users a big advantage. The devs solved this problem by adding input-based matchmaking to all crossplay ranked matches in the April 2026 patch. That means controller players will only be matched with other controller players, and mouse and keyboard players will only be matched with other M&K players, no matter what platform they’re on. I’ve played over 50 ranked crossplay matches on controller, and I’ve never been matched against a mouse and keyboard player, which makes the ranked experience feel fair and balanced. If you still don’t want to use crossplay for ranked, you can turn it off in the ranked settings tab, and you’ll only be matched with players on your same platform. All ranked rewards are the same across all platforms, so you’ll earn the same skins and in-game currency no matter who you play with.
At the end of the day, figuring out where winds meet crossplay works is pretty straightforward once you know the right settings to adjust and which platforms are supported. The 2026 updates have made crossplay far more stable than it was during the game’s initial launch, so most players won’t run into major issues if they follow the steps I outlined above. Whether you’re teaming up to take down world bosses or competing in ranked matches, crossplay makes it easy to play with all your friends no matter what device they own. Just remember to double check your settings before you queue up, and you’ll be good to go.
