Is Helldivers 2 Crossplay? What Works Across PC, PS5 and Xbox

Summary: Yes. Helldivers 2 has crossplay across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and it is switched on by default, so you can be matched with players on any platform without touching a setting. What it does not have is cross-progression: your level, Super Credits and unlocks stay on the platform where you earned them.

• Crossplay covers PC (Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and it is on by default.
• You can turn it off in the options menu, but doing so shrinks your matchmaking pool.
• To squad up with a specific friend, you need their eight-digit friend code.
• There is no cross-progression or cross-save, so pick the platform you intend to stay on.

Is Helldivers 2 Crossplay on PC, PS5 and Xbox?

All three platforms play together. For the first eighteen months the game ran on PC and PS5 only, which is why a lot of older guides still describe it as a two-platform game. That changed when Helldivers 2 arrived on Xbox Series X|S on 26 August 2025, and crossplay covered Xbox from launch day rather than arriving later in a patch.

Matchmaking pulls from every platform at once, so a random four-player squad can easily be a mix of all three. Squad size is capped at four regardless of where anyone is playing.

How to Turn Crossplay On or Off

The toggle lives in the game's settings rather than in your console's system menu:

• Open the options menu from your ship or the title screen.
• Go to the Gameplay tab and find the Crossplay setting.
• Switch it off to match only with players on your own platform, or leave it on.
• Restart the game if a friend still cannot see you after either of you changes the setting.

Turning crossplay off has a real cost. It restricts you to players on your own platform, which is felt most on Xbox where the player base is the newest of the three. Unless you have a specific reason to disable it, leaving it on gives you faster matchmaking and fuller squads.

How to Play With Friends on Another Platform

Crossplay handles strangers automatically, but adding a specific person takes one extra step, because platform friends lists do not carry across. Each player has an eight-digit friend code, and that code is what links accounts on different systems.

• Open the Social menu and find your own friend code to share it.
• Use the search bar at the top of the same menu to enter someone else's code.
• Once the request is accepted, invite them from your in-game friends list.
• Decide who hosts before you launch, and give it to whoever has the steadiest connection.

Voice chat is the weakest part of the cross-platform experience and can be inconsistent between systems, so many squads run a separate voice app instead. If in-game comms are letting you down, a dedicated headset from a brand like Logitech will at least remove your own mic from the list of suspects.

Does Helldivers 2 Have Cross-Progression?

No. This is the single most common point of confusion, because crossplay and cross-progression sound like the same feature and are not. You can play with anyone; you cannot bring your account with you. Progress made on PS5 stays on PS5, and Steam progress stays on Steam. Arrowhead sets out the position in its support FAQ on transferring progress, and the studio has said repeatedly that there are no current plans to add it, a stance that has held from the PC and PS5 era through the Xbox launch.

The practical upshot: treat your platform choice as permanent. Buy where your friends play and where you plan to stay, because levels, Super Credits, unlocked stratagems and warbond progress do not follow you.

What You Need to Play Online on Each Platform

Helldivers 2 needs an internet connection at all times, and each platform adds its own requirement on top:

• PS5: online play requires an active PlayStation Plus membership.
• Xbox Series X|S: console multiplayer requires a suitable Xbox subscription.
• PC: no paid subscription, but you will be asked to link a PlayStation Network account.

If you need to top up a console subscription before a squad night, key resellers such as CDKeys often list membership codes below the storefront price, and a prepaid store card works just as well if you would rather not put a card on the account.

Crossplay Not Working? What to Check First

Most reported crossplay failures come down to four things, in roughly this order of likelihood:

• One player in the squad has crossplay switched off. Everyone needs it on.
• Matchmaking privacy is set to private or friends-only, which blocks the invite you are expecting.
• The friend code was mistyped, or you are searching for the wrong player on a shared name.
• A setting was changed without a restart, which leaves you invisible to each other until you relaunch.

Disconnects mid-mission are a different problem and usually point at routing rather than settings. Players have long reported more desyncs and drops with crossplay enabled, and a network optimiser like GearUP is one way to test whether your route to the host is the weak link before you blame the game.

Is Helldivers 2 Split Screen?

No. There is no local split-screen or couch co-op mode on any platform. Every four-player squad is made up of four separate machines and four separate accounts, which is worth knowing before you buy a second copy expecting to share one screen.

Getting a Squad Together Tonight

The short version: leave crossplay on, swap friend codes, and accept that your progress is tied to whichever platform you started on. If you are weighing up where to buy, it is worth reading how the same questions play out in Elden Ring's cross-platform situation, which is far more restrictive, or browsing our wider list of games that support crossplay properly. And if you are picking up the game or a warbond on PC, you can buy a Steam gift card and have the code delivered in minutes.