Baldur's Gate 3 just got its final update, Patch 8, bringing with it a long-awaited feature: cross-play. Now it doesn't matter if you and your friends are playing on PC, Mac, Xbox, or PlayStation, you'll all be able to the same lobby and play together as a party. Playing cross-play on Baldur's Gate 3 isn't a terribly complicated process, but it's at least worth knowing the ins and outs before you sit down to play, so you and your friends can get started more quickly. It's also worth knowing what doesn't work in cross-play, to avoid any hiccups.

Aside from cross-play, last official update, it's hard to complain too much after all the great content Larian has given players since the game's release in 2023. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of Larian's major updates than by starting the game fresh with friends you haven't been able to play with yet.

How To Access A Cross-Play Game In BG3

Baldur's Gate 3's Cross-Play Can Be Accessed From The Multiplayer Menu

If you're looking to a cross-play lobby in Baldur's Gate 3, you'll want to start by navigating to the Multiplayer button on the main menu. Once inside, you'll see three tabs across the top: Online, LAN, and Cross-Play. The first time you select the Cross-Play option, you will get a pop-up window asking you to allow cross-play. Just click the blue "enable cross-play" button at the bottom center of the window, and you're free to start looking for an open cross-play lobby. These will be listed the same way typical multiplayer lobbies are and have similar filter options.

You won't likely see any cross-play lobbies when first logging in because there is no option to create a public cross-play lobby. However, if your friend has set up a cross-play lobby and selected the "Friends Only" option, it should appear for you to . Otherwise, the list of cross-play servers will be empty, and you'll need a direct invite to be able to one. If you're looking to create your own cross-play lobby for friends to , or to invite people directly you can do that too and the process isn't too difficult.

How To Create A Cross-Play Lobby In BG3

Cross-Play Lobbies Are Largely Similar To Other Multiplayer Lobbies In BG3

While in the Cross-Play tab on the Multiplayer menu screen, select the "create" button at the bottom of the screen to set up your own lobby. There's no option to switch between cross-play or regular lobbies once you've clicked "create," so make sure you're in the right tab when you go to set it up. You'll know as soon as you get to your lobby setup screen if you've done it right, because it will say "Cross-Play" after your lobby name.

Setting up a cross-play game is essentially the same as setting up any Baldur's Gate 3 multiplayer lobby. You can select the number of slots for other players, the gameplay difficulty, and who can see the lobby. The main difference is that there is no option to make your lobby public, so your only visibility options are "Friends Only," "Invite Only," and "Closed." There also are no check boxes for Direct Connections or LAN Connections like there are in non-cross-play lobbies.

When inviting friends on different consoles, you'll need to know their Larian name, since you can't rely on a platform like Steam to invite them. You can add friends to your Larian from the main menu of Baldur's Gate 3 by clicking the Manage button on the bottom right side of the screen. That brings up the Management page which will both show you your screen name (so you can give it to others) and lets you open your Friends List. Once on your Friends List, you can enter your friends' Larian names to add them.

Do Mods Work With Cross-Play?

Mods Work With Cross-Play As Long As Every Player Has Them

Since Baldur's Gate 3 s mods on consoles as well as PC, you can use your mods in a cross-play game. You will just need to make sure everyone has the same ones ed in order to launch the game. Luckily, Baldur's Gate 3's website says that a Mod Verification window will open up if you are trying to launch a game where players don't have the same mods installed. This window will tell you which ones need to be added or removed in order to successfully launch your cross-play game.

Cross-play coming to Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the most exciting features of Patch 8. I'm excited to experience the game with one of my friends who hasn't played multiplayer yet, even if it means yet another trip through the game's first act. I'm also interested to see the new builds that Patch 8's new subclasses will allow, which I'm sure will make it worth starting the game again.

Source: Baldur's Gate 3