We’ve all loved exploring the different regions of the wasteland in the Fallout series alone, but it wasn’t until Fallout 76 that we had the chance to do so with friends. While it wasn’t quite what people were hoping for at launch, years of support have made this an excellent world to explore and go on quests with friends in. While we expect titles like those to be a cross-platform game, Fallout 76 came out before that was the standard. If you’ve got a group of friends playing on different systems, will you still be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of the wasteland together? Here’s what you need to know.
Is Fallout 76 cross-platform?
Unfortunately, Fallout 76 only has partial crossplay support. The only two platforms that can play on the same servers are Xbox and PC, but only in the case where PC players are accessing the game through Game Pass. If you are on a PlayStation console or bought the game on Steam, you will only be able to play with others on those respective platforms. This is similar to how Elden Ring and Ark: Survival Evolved handle their partial cross-platform support.
The story is also a disappointing one for those hoping Fallout 76 would at least have cross-save functionality. There is no way to transfer your progress off whatever platform you begin playing the game on if you end up needing to switch platforms to play with friends. Should you pick the game up on a second platform, you will have to start your entire Fallout 76 adventure from scratch.
The last update we got about Fallout 76 possibly getting cross-platform support was in an interview between Todd Howard and Kinda Funny Games in April 2024. When asked about crossplay coming to the game, Howard stated that “we keep looking into it, but [Fallout 76] wasn’t designed that way from the beginning.” While that was a bit vague, he was a little more clear about cross-progression. “Here’s what I would say, which is for us the more the important thing is cross-progression than cross-play — and we do separate them — we’d love to have it all,” Howard said. “It’s something we are looking at, but I will say it’s quite — the way that [Fallout 76] was architected from the beginning — a technical lift. Not saying we are or aren’t doing anything, we are looking at it and seeing where that’s going to impact people.”
Since it has been over a year since these comments were made, either that technical lift is far greater than we think, or the team has abandoned the idea. If we learn more, we will keep you updated.
