Last month, I picked up Tekken 8 on PC, only to realize my childhood friend who I’ve been playing fighting games with for 10 years owns it on PlayStation 5. We spent 20 minutes clicking through menus trying to join each other’s lobbies before we figured out we’d both accidentally turned off crossplay during initial setup. If you’ve ever run into the same frustration, this guide breaks down exactly how to play Tekken 8 crossplay, from enabling the right settings to fixing common connection issues that pop up across platforms.
How to Play Tekken 8 Crossplay: First, Enable Crossplay in Your Settings
Crossplay is enabled by default for most new Tekken 8 installations, but if you toggled it off during setup to avoid matching with players on other devices, you’ll need to turn it back on first. The process is the same no matter what platform you’re playing on: head to the main menu, select Options, scroll to the Online Settings tab, and flip the Cross-Platform Play toggle to On. You won't be able to match with players on other platforms if either your in-game or system crossplay settings are disabled.
Don’t forget to check your system-level settings too, especially if you’re playing on console. PlayStation and Xbox both have separate crossplay toggles in their account privacy settings, and if those are switched off, the in-game setting won’t work. I’ve seen so many players miss this step, spending hours troubleshooting the game when the fix is just a quick toggle in their console settings.
How to Invite Friends Across Platforms to Tekken 8 Lobbies
Once crossplay is enabled, you have two ways to add and invite friends from other platforms: your platform’s native friend list, or your linked Bandai Namco ID. If you already have your friend added on Steam, PlayStation Network, or Xbox Live, they’ll show up in your in-game friend list automatically, even if you’re on different devices. If you don’t have them added on your platform, you can send them a friend request using their unique Bandai Namco ID, which you can find in your in-game profile settings.
To create a crossplay-enabled custom lobby, head to the Online tab from the main menu, select Custom Lobby, and choose to create a new lobby. You can set the privacy to Public, Friends Only, or Password Protected, and the Cross-Platform Allowed toggle will be switched on by default. Custom lobbies for crossplay can support up to 8 players total, perfect for casual tournament nights with friends spread across different devices.
If you’re having trouble finding or inviting crossplay friends, these are the most common mistakes to check for first:
- Forgetting to link their Bandai Namco ID to their platform account before trying to send invites
- Setting their custom lobby to "Platform Only" by accident when creating it
- Having their console's privacy settings set to block invites from players outside their platform friend list
Fixing Common Tekken 8 Crossplay Connection Issues
Even with all the right settings enabled, you might run into occasional issues with crossplay matches. The most common complaint I hear from players is unexpected lag or disconnections mid-match, and most of the time these issues have nothing to do with crossplay itself. First, make sure you’re running the latest version of the game: patches roll out to all platforms at the same time, but PC users on Steam or Epic Games Store sometimes delay updates, which will prevent you from matching with players on other platforms.
If you’re experiencing consistent lag in crossplay ranked matches, you can adjust your matchmaking settings to only pair you with players within a certain ping range. If you're experiencing consistent lag in crossplay matches, set your maximum allowed ping to 80ms in online settings to avoid matching with players too far away. Switching from a Wi-Fi connection to a wired Ethernet connection will also eliminate 90% of random disconnections, no matter what platform you’re playing on.
If crossplay stops working entirely for you, with no cross-platform players showing up in matchmaking at all, it might be a server issue. Bandai Namco occasionally takes crossplay servers offline for maintenance, so check official game channels if crossplay stops working entirely for all your matches. Maintenance usually only lasts 1-2 hours, and you can still play against players on your own platform while servers are down.
Is Crossplay Right for Your Tekken 8 Playstyle?
Crossplay is a fantastic feature for most players, but it’s not for everyone, and that’s totally fine. The biggest benefit of keeping crossplay enabled is the much larger player pool: you’ll wait 70% less time for ranked matches on average, even during off-peak hours, and you’ll get matched against a wider variety of playstyles to help you improve faster. It also means you don’t have to buy the game on multiple platforms just to play with your friends who own different consoles or PCs.
There are a few downsides to consider, though. Some players argue that PC players with high-refresh-rate monitors and custom fight sticks have a tiny advantage over console players playing on standard 60hz TVs, though Bandai Namco has adjusted input delay across all platforms to make matches as fair as possible. If you’re grinding for a top spot on your platform’s specific leaderboard, you’ll also want to turn crossplay off so you only match against other players on the same device as you.
You can toggle crossplay on and off at any time, with no penalty to your rank or in-game progress. If you’re playing casual matches with friends, leave it on. If you’re trying to climb the platform-specific ranked ladder, switch it off for a few sessions. It’s totally up to you.
At the end of the day, crossplay is one of the best additions to Tekken 8 in recent years, and it takes almost no effort to get set up. You don’t have to miss out on playing with your friends just because you picked different platforms to buy the game on, and the larger player pool means you’ll never wait more than a minute for a ranked match even during off-peak hours. If you’ve been putting off figuring out how to play Tekken 8 crossplay, there’s no better time to tweak your settings and jump into a match right now.