Riot Games’ breakout tactical shooter Valorant exploded in popularity post-2020. Its high-stakes, strategy-rich gameplay, agent cards, and esports-grade competitiveness struck a chord with an immense global player base overnight.
However, as cross-play establishes itself as the new standard for the gaming industry, more and more players—specifically those playing between console and PC—have been asking themselves:
Is Valorant crossplay? Do console and PC players get to team up or play against each other?
This ultimate guide provides all your questions about cross-platform support in Valorant, such as Riot’s current stance, development possibilities, and effects of crossplay (or not) on matchmaking, gameplay, and the player base.
What is Crossplay?
For the sake of preparing to transition into Valorant’s specific situation, it is helpful to know what crossplay is.
Crossplay (cross-platform play) is a feature that allows individuals on various platforms (e.g., PC, PlayStation, Xbox) to co-play in the same space. For example, if a game supports crossplay, a PC player can co-play with someone who plays on PlayStation or Xbox.
The best crossplay games are:
- Fortnite
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Rocket League
- Minecraft: This is a feature that promotes inclusion, increases matchmaking pools, and allows friends on various systems to play together seamlessly.
Is Valorant Crossplay in 2025?
Short Answer: No, Valorant is not crossplay as of May 2025.
Valorant is now a PC-exclusive game, and crossplay is not available since there has not been an official release of the game on consoles yet.
Why Isn’t Valorant Crossplay Yet?
There are a few reasons why crossplay is not present in Valorant at this time:
🎮 No Console Launch So Far
Currently, Valorant is only playable on PC. You will be unable to download or play Valorant on PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch. As there is no console launch, cross-platform play isn’t really an option.
All of that aside, all of that could be changing in very short order. Riot Games has officially announced that they’re developing console versions of Valorant (see below).
🎮 Gameplay Balance
Valorant is a very competitive first-person shooter, and milliseconds are all that count when winning or losing a match.
The precision level offered by the mouse and keyboard usage gives a natural advantage to PC players over console players gaming with a controller. Both employed together in a competitive game can lead to:
- Steam-venting console players who feel that they are being put at a disadvantage
- Unbalanced matches
- Potentially PC cheating or exploits, Riot Games has received an answer with keeping competitive integrity number one being what they are going to do, and they would not have crossplay if it is not fair enough to them.
Is Valorant Coming to Console?
Yes, Valorant Is Being Developed for the Console
In June 2023, Riot Games revealed publicly that console testing for Valorant was underway and internal alpha builds were internally tested.
Although no launch date has been officially announced, some job postings and interviews have ascertained that Valorant is actually being developed for PlayStation and Xbox.
List of Platforms:
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S No mention of last-gen console support, such as PS4 or Xbox One.
Will Valorant Be Crossplay When It Releases on Console?
It’s Complicated. While Riot hasn’t said so yet, here’s the scoop:
Crossplay Could Be Optional or Restricted
- Riot has thought about adding crossplay among consoles as optional or restricted, i.e., Xbox vs. PlayStation.
- They can potentially have or limit PC and console crossplay due to different gameplay. Valorant Executive Producer Anna Donlon stated in an interview in 2023:
“We’re prototyping a console version of Valorant, but there’s a way to play this game and a version to play this game that we’re not entirely sure translates completely to console.”
This would imply that in the event of crossplay, PC-to-console matchmaking is optional or disabled entirely for the sake of competitive balance.
Valorant Compared to Other FPS Games in Regards to Crossplay
| Game Title | Crossplay Supported? | PC and Console Matchmaking? |
| Valorant | No | Not available |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | Yes | Yes (Opt-out available) |
| Apex Legends | Yes | Yes |
| Overwatch 2 | Yes | Yes (Ranked is separate) |
| Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) | No | PC only |
Will Valorant Have Cross-Progression?
Most Likely Yes — By Riot’s Ecosystem
Cross-progression would have the meaning that your unlocked agents, skins, and rank, alongside progress, would all be synced between one platform and another.
While it wasn’t explicitly stated, Riot’s experience with other games (like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Legends of Runeterra) suggests that they are dedicated to shared Riot IDs and account syncing.
That Riot implements the Riot Games Account system has the meaning that there is:
- Cosmetic shared progress
- List of shared friends
- Cloud storage of data
Cross-progression would be enabled during console launches of Valorant.
When Would Crossplay be Released for Valorant?
There is no release date announced yet for the crossplay or console. Though based on:
- Ongoing testing since 2023
- Hoped-for 2025 beta test phases
- Riot development news: There is a chance that a Valorant console beta would launch by late 2025 or early 2026, and crossplay functionality would be rolled out in phases.
Riot’s Priorities: Competitive Integrity First
Riot has gone to great lengths to report time and time again that competitive balance is their #1 priority. They are concerned that crossplay will ruin the integrity of the games. When and if crossplay comes
- It will likely be limited in ranked/competitive play
- Unrated/casual gameplay can be relaxed for crossplay
- Aim assist options on consoles can be adjusted to support parity. Slowly, Riot will roll out crossplay features, and the final decision will also be based on the players’ feedback.
What Do the People Say?
Valorant players split on whether they support or oppose crossplay.
🎮 Arguments For Crossplay
- Will be friends to play together across different platforms
- Reduced queue wait time
- Will increase the player base
🎮 Arguments Against Crossplay
- Console players will be disadvantaged
- PC cheaters will ruin the console experience
- Riot is aware of these sentiments and seems to take it slowly in pursuing player demand as opposed to game quality.
Will Valorant Ever Be Crossplay?
| Question | Answer |
| Is Valorant crossplay now? | No |
| Is Valorant on console? | Not yet (in development) |
| Will Valorant support crossplay in the future? | Possibly, but likely limited |
| Will there be cross-progression? | Very likely |
| Why no crossplay yet? | PC-only game; Competitive fairness concerns |
Valorant and Crossplay FAQs
If you have questions about is Valorant cross-play play then you are not alone.
Here are a few questions asked by others that you might find helpful.
1. Is Valorant on PS5 or Xbox?
No, Valorant remains a PC-exclusive game. Console releases are in progress.
2. Can you play Valorant on Steam Deck?
Theoretically, yes, but with some workarounds. Valorant uses Vanguard anti-cheat, which is totally incompatible with Linux-based platforms like Steam Deck currently.
3. Will I be able to keep playing where I left off if I play on console in the future?
Extremely likely yes. Riot will probably allow cross-progression between platforms through Riot Games Accounts.
4. Is it possible to play Valorant on a controller on PC?
No, Valorant doesn’t support controllers on PC officially. There’s only a mouse and keyboard supported as input.
For console news or crossplay support, bookmark Riot’s official blog or follow Valorant on Twitter and Discord for notifications.
Crossplay or Not!
Valorant isn’t crossplay yet, however, and all signs point to console support just around the corner sometime down the road, as well as a carefully crafted crossplay model.
Riot Games clearly wants to preserve Valorant’s competitive purity that makes it stand out so much.
Console players will have to wait a bit longer, maybe, but the future is looking bright for an even more unified cross-platform Valorant experience.
In the meantime, PC gamers will continue to enjoy one of the finest tactical shooters in esports in exclusivity.
If you’re anxious for console releases, wait for Riot to release their own reports or beta-register for Valorant when they launch.
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