There’s nothing better than jumping into a Terraria world with your friends, mining for rare ore, fighting the Eye of Cthulhu, and building a messy floating base together – until you realize half your group plays on PC and the other half uses PlayStation. If you’ve ever asked can you play Terraria cross platform, you’re not alone. I’ve spent dozens of hours testing crossplay setups for my own friend group, and I’ve broken down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to get your whole crew in the same world with as little hassle as possible.
Can You Play Terraria Cross Platform: Supported Device Pairs
Terraria crossplay support has expanded a lot over the last few updates, but it’s still not universal across every device. The developer Re-Logic has prioritized crossplay for the most popular player bases first, so some console pairs still don’t work together. All crossplay functionality requires that every player is on the exact same game version, so make sure no one in your group has pending updates before you start.
It’s important to note that cross-save is separate from crossplay, so you can’t transfer your existing world or character between devices that don’t support cross-save, even if they work for crossplay. For example, you can play with your Switch-using friend on your Xbox, but you can’t move your 100-hour Xbox save over to your Switch if you decide to buy a copy later.
How to Set Up Crossplay for Supported Terraria Devices
Setting up crossplay is surprisingly simple once you know which settings to toggle. For Steam and mobile players, the host just needs to open their world settings before loading the game, and turn on the Enable Cross-Platform Play toggle. Once the world is loaded, the host will get a 7-digit invite code that they can share with other players, who can enter it in the “Join via Code” menu to connect. You don’t need to be friends on Steam or any other platform to join via code, which is perfect for playing with casual friends you don’t have added on social platforms.
For Xbox and Switch players, you’ll first need to link your Microsoft account to your Nintendo Switch profile if you haven’t already. Once that’s done, both players need to enable cross-network play in their console privacy settings, and toggle crossplay on in Terraria’s in-game settings. You can then join each other directly through the in-game friends list, no invite code required. I once spent 20 minutes troubleshooting with my Switch-using friend, only to realize he had his Xbox privacy settings set to block cross-network connections. It’s a tiny setting that trips a lot of people up, so double check that first if you can’t see each other’s lobbies.
Common Crossplay Issues and How to Fix Them
Even with supported pairs, you might run into small issues when trying to connect. The most common problem is a version mismatch, and all players must be running the exact same game version to connect. If you’re playing on Steam and opted into beta updates to test new features, you won’t be able to join mobile players who are on the official stable release. Just opt out of beta updates and restart your game to fix this.
Another common issue is invite codes not working for Steam and mobile players. This usually happens if the host has a firewall or VPN blocking Terraria’s peer-to-peer connection, or if they’re on a restricted network like a school or work Wi-Fi. Have the host switch to a private home network, and add Terraria as an exception to their firewall settings to fix this. If you’re playing with friends from a different region, you might notice higher ping than usual, so it’s best to have the player with the most stable and fastest internet host the world to reduce lag for everyone.
Workarounds for Unsupported Crossplay Pairs
If you and your friends have unsupported devices, like PlayStation and PC, you still have a few options to play together. The most accessible option is remote play streaming, using tools like Steam Remote Play Together or Parsec. With these tools, one player hosts the game on their PC, and other players can stream the game to their own device, even if it’s a PlayStation or a laptop that doesn’t have Terraria installed. The downside is that this requires a very strong internet connection for both the host and all players, and you might notice small input lag that makes fast-paced boss fights harder.
If you play with the same group regularly, you might also consider buying a second copy of Terraria on a supported device. The game is very affordable, especially during sales, and it’s a small investment if you get dozens of hours of co-op play out of it. Re-Logic has not announced any plans to add PlayStation crossplay support as of now, so don’t hold your breath for that update anytime soon. For most casual players, the remote play workaround is more than enough for casual building sessions or early game exploration runs.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play Terraria cross platform depends entirely on what devices you and your friends use. Most players can get a crossplay game going with a few quick setting tweaks, even if you have to use a workaround for less common device pairs. Just make sure everyone is on the same game version, double check your privacy settings, and don’t forget to bring extra healing potions for your first hardmode boss fight. It’s always more fun to take on the Wall of Flesh with your whole crew, no matter what device they’re playing on.