You just picked up No Man's Sky on PS5 during a sale, and your college best friend has logged 300+ hours on their Steam copy. You both want to explore uncharted star systems, build shared bases, and take down pirate fleets together, so your first search is probably is no man's sky cross platform pc and ps5. The game has evolved so much since its rocky 2016 launch, and crossplay support is one of the most requested features players have asked for over the years. This guide breaks down exactly how crossplay works between the two platforms, what limitations you might run into, and how to fix common connection issues so you can spend less time troubleshooting and more time exploring.
Is No Man's Sky Cross Platform PC and PS5: Official Support Details
The short answer is yes, full crossplay support between PC and PS5 has been available for all players since 2021, with no extra purchases or DLC required to access it. This support covers all PC versions of the game, including Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG releases, as well as both PS5 and PS4 consoles. I remember being so frustrated when the game first launched with zero crossplay support, so seeing how far it’s come is really impressive for a small studio like Hello Games. All crossplay features are enabled by default when you install the game, so you don't have to dig through settings to turn it on unless you previously disabled it for any reason.
Crossplay works across every game mode too, from casual creative builds to high-stakes permadeath runs, and even limited-time expedition events that offer exclusive cosmetic rewards. You don't have to worry about being locked out of content if your friend is playing a different mode than you, as long as you both select the same mode when starting your session. The only exception is custom game modes, which require both players to have the same custom settings enabled to join the same lobby.
How to Join Cross Platform Sessions Between PC and PS5
Connecting with friends across PC and PS5 is far simpler than it is for many other crossplay games, with no complicated third-party accounts required beyond the free Hello Games account you already set up when you first launched the game. You can join friends directly, or hop into public lobbies with random players from either platform if you want to meet new people to explore with. Follow these steps to get connected in minutes:
There are a few extra things to note before you jump into a session. PS5 players will need an active PlayStation Plus subscription to join any online multiplayer sessions, including crossplay with PC users. PC players don’t need any extra subscriptions beyond what’s required for their chosen storefront, though some storefronts offer free multiplayer access with no extra cost. You can turn off crossplay at any time from the Network menu if you run into toxic players or want to only match with people on your own platform for any reason.
Limitations and Known Issues for PC and PS5 Crossplay
While Hello Games’ crossplay implementation is one of the most polished I’ve used in any live service game, there are a few small limitations you should be aware of before you plan a long co-op session with friends. Most of these are easy to work around as long as you know about them ahead of time, so you won’t have to cut your play session short to fix unexpected problems. Modded PC sessions won’t work with PS5 players, for example, as the PS5 version of the game is always unmodded to comply with console store policies. If you have mods installed on your PC copy, the game will automatically block crossplay connections to prevent conflicts, so you’ll need to disable all mods and launch the vanilla version of the game to play with PS5 friends.
Save progression is still tied to your individual platform account, too, so you can’t transfer your existing save from PC to PS5 or vice versa even with crossplay enabled. That means if you’ve logged 200 hours on PC, you’ll have to start from scratch if you decide to switch to PS5, and you can’t share earned items or currency between your own accounts on different platforms. Some rare performance glitches can pop up if you’re playing with 8 or more players across platforms, like delayed terrain loading or minor item duplication bugs, but these are almost always fixed by restarting the session. I’ve noticed that if one player has a slow or unstable internet connection, the whole session can lag for everyone regardless of platform, so it’s a good idea to have everyone connect via a wired connection if possible for the smoothest experience.
Tips for Seamless Cross Platform Play Between PC and PS5
Most crossplay issues are easy to fix with a few simple tweaks, and these tips will help you avoid 99% of common frustrations before they even happen. If you’re having trouble connecting to a friend’s session, the first thing you should try is restarting both the game and your router – I’ve found this fixes connection issues more reliably than any other troubleshooting step, even if your internet seems to be working fine for other apps. Avoid using platform-specific chat tools like PlayStation Party or Steam Chat when playing crossplay, as these won’t work across devices, and stick to the in-game voice chat which is optimized for cross-platform use.
Sync your expedition progress before joining a crossplay session if you’re participating in a limited-time event, to make sure you don’t lose any rewards you’ve already earned. The game usually syncs progress automatically, but manually saving your game right before joining a friend’s session reduces the risk of lost progress if there’s a connection drop mid-session. If you’re playing on PC, you can also turn on the crossplay optimized graphics setting in the options menu to reduce minor visual discrepancies between the PC and PS5 versions that can cause small loading delays when you first spawn into a friend’s world.
If you’re hosting a session, let the player with the fastest internet connection host regardless of which platform they’re on, as the host’s connection speed determines how smooth the session is for everyone else. You should also avoid building extremely large, complex bases in the system where you usually meet up with crossplay friends, as these can cause longer loading times for PS5 players who have less available RAM than most high-end gaming PCs.
At the end of the day, the answer to is no man's sky cross platform pc and ps5 is a resounding yes, with almost no barriers to playing with your friends no matter which platform you prefer. The crossplay implementation is so seamless that most of the time you won’t even notice you’re playing with someone on a different device, aside from the occasional joke about PC players having better frame rates or PS5 players having easier controller support for casual play sessions. The few small limitations are easy to work around if you plan ahead, and Hello Games regularly releases patches to fix any remaining crossplay bugs and improve the experience for all players. Grab your multi-tool, team up with your friends, and go explore some uncharted planets together – the galaxy is way more fun when you’re sharing it with people you like.
