Valorant Cross Platform - PC and Console

Valorant was released on console in 2024, for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Some thought it could never be done; this is an iconic PC game, how could it possibly work on a controller? But Riot made it happen, and they did an excellent job of porting the game over and making intelligent changes where needed. 

But now the game has been out for a while, and console players have got to grips with the fundamentals of Valorant, many players have been left wondering whether they can play with the PC playerbase as well. 

Is Valorant Crossplay Console Only? 

Valorant on console does have crossplay, but only between PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. There is currently no way for someone on PlayStation or Xbox to play with a PC player. This is also why you have a different rank on PC and on console. 

Image Credit: Riot Games 

Although it might seem annoying, especially if you have a friend on PC that wants to grind with you, it does actually make sense. Riot can far more easily maintain the game if it is split into two separate clients. And beyond simply maintaining the game and resolving bugs, this also allows them to balance the game differently, which is important because certain abilities can be more powerful on controller compared to keyboard and mouse. Flashes, for instance, are more powerful on console, because so few players have a high enough sensitivity to be able to look away in time. 

Will We Ever Be Able To Play Crossplay Between PC & Console? 

Although it would theoretically be possible for Riot to create crossplay between PC and console, we don’t expect them to ever do it. It simply wouldn’t be fair to put a controller player against a mouse and keyboard player, because the aim assist in Valorant is not strong, and so the PC player would dominate every gunfight. 

Of course, they could make a separate PC Valorant client that was only playable with a controller connected, and that would deal with the fairness issue. However, this would be a lot of work, and we don’t think enough PC players would choose to play on controller to make the idea profitable. 

Image Credit: Riot Games 

Also, even if they created a PC Valorant client for controller, it would be very susceptible to cheaters spoofing the client into believing their mouse and keyboard were actually a controller. 

All in all, there are simply too many problems, and it would be too messy, so keeping Xbox and PlayStation together and separate from PC makes sense. We hope to be proven wrong one day, but we would be surprised.