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Ready or Not supports online co-op for up to five players on Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. To play with friends, enable cross-play before anyone joins, create a Friends Only lobby, set the difficulty, and send invitations through the game or your platform’s friends system. A linked Epic account can make cross-platform friend search and invitations easier, but linking is optional.
The important exception is mod support: a console player cannot join a PC-hosted lobby while the PC host is using mods, even when cross-play is enabled. The steps below separate the settings that apply to your account from the cross-play choice made for an individual lobby.
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What you need for Ready or Not co-op
Ready or Not’s online co-op supports a maximum of five players in one cooperative session. The documented cross-play platforms are Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Steam’s listing identifies the game as an online co-op tactical first-person shooter, while the Epic Games Store listing describes cross-play for up to five players on all supported platforms.
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- Each player needs an online connection and access to that platform’s multiplayer services.
- All players joining a cross-platform lobby must have cross-play enabled.
- The PC host must run an unmodded game when Xbox or PlayStation players are joining.
- The host should decide whether the session is Friends Only or public before sending invitations.
Cross-play is not a setting you can change from inside an active mission. Set it up from the main menu before creating or joining the lobby.
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- True Tactical Gameplay: Ready or Not is a true tactical shooter. Every mission is a high-stakes, life-or-death operation. Strategically forge your squad of elite SWAT officers, equip them with the right weapons and gear for the mission, position your team to tactically breach criminal strongholds and quickly identify and neutralize threats in tense, life threatening scenarios.
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- Cross-Comradery: Team up with friends to stem the tide of crime infesting the city. Enhanced with crossplay, Ready or Not supports up to five players in a co-operative tactical experience on all platforms. Communicate effectively to increase your tactical precision, watch your squad’s back, and successfully complete your mission.
Cross-play, account linking, and lobby settings are different
Three controls are easy to confuse:
Global cross-play setting
This is the Cross-Play toggle in Main Menu > Settings > Gameplay Options. It controls whether your account is allowed to participate in cross-platform matchmaking and invitations. The toggle is found at the bottom of the Gameplay Options page and must be changed before you enter a game.
Per-lobby cross-play choice
When the host creates a lobby, cross-play can be selected as part of that lobby’s setup. This choice applies to that lobby; it does not permanently rewrite the global setting in Gameplay Options. A player can therefore have cross-play enabled globally but create a particular lobby with cross-platform play turned off.
Epic account linking
Linking an Epic account adds cross-platform friend search, invitations, lobby visibility, and party-management functions through the Epic Online Services overlay. Void Interactive’s guidance says linking is optional for cross-play itself. In other words, you do not have to link an Epic account simply because one friend is playing on another platform. Linking is useful when the normal platform friends list does not expose the person you want to invite.
Set up co-op before you invite anyone
- Launch Ready or Not. Wait until the main menu is visible; the cross-play control is not available from an active mission.
- Open the settings. Choose Settings, then Gameplay Options.
- Find Cross-Play. Scroll to the bottom of Gameplay Options and set Cross-Play to On. Every player who needs to join across platforms should do this.
- Return to the main menu. Do not assume changing the option in one account changes it for your friends; each player has to enable the setting on their own account.
- Create a lobby. Choose the multiplayer or lobby-creation option, select Friends Only, and configure the mission difficulty.
- Choose the lobby’s cross-play behavior. Enable cross-play for this lobby if friends are joining from a different platform. Remember that this lobby-level choice is separate from the global Gameplay Options toggle.
- Invite the group. Use the in-game or platform friends list. If you have linked an Epic account, open the Epic Online Services overlay to search for cross-platform friends and send invitations.
- Accept and verify. Each invited player should accept the invitation from the same friends or overlay system used to send it. If a player has cross-play disabled, Ready or Not prompts that player to enable it before joining.
Keep the group at five players or fewer. If more than five people want to play, divide them into separate sessions rather than trying to add a sixth player to one lobby.
How to invite friends in common setups
Steam host inviting a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S friend
- The Steam player and the console player each open Main Menu > Settings > Gameplay Options and turn Cross-Play on.
- The Steam player creates a Friends Only lobby and enables cross-play for that lobby.
- The host sends the invitation through the in-game or platform friends system. If the two accounts are not discoverable through the ordinary list, the host can use a linked Epic account and the Epic Online Services overlay for cross-platform search and invitations.
- The console player accepts the invitation. If the game reports that cross-play is disabled, the console player returns to the main menu, enables the toggle, and tries the invitation again.
The same procedure works in the other direction: a console player can host a cross-platform Friends Only lobby and invite a Steam or Epic Games Store player, provided the lobby allows cross-play and the PC player is not hosting with mods.
Epic Games Store players joining one another
Players on the Epic Games Store can use their platform friends list. Linking an Epic account is still optional, but the Epic Online Services overlay can centralize cross-platform searching and party invitations when friends are spread across platforms.
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Players on the same platform
Same-platform groups can use the normal platform friends list and do not need cross-platform friend search. They should still create the intended lobby type and keep the global and lobby settings consistent with the group’s plan. If everyone is on the same platform, disabling cross-play for that lobby can avoid accidentally exposing it to cross-platform matchmaking, but it is not required for a same-platform session.
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Choosing the right lobby configuration
| Setup | Global Cross-Play setting | Lobby choice | Best use | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Same-platform friends | On or Off | Friends Only; cross-play can be off | A group where every player uses the same platform | Turning the global option off prevents cross-platform joining later until it is re-enabled from the main menu |
| Cross-platform friends | On for every participating player | Friends Only with cross-play enabled | A private session with Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and/or PlayStation 5 players | A player with cross-play disabled must enable it before joining |
| Public or broader matchmaking | On if cross-platform players are welcome | Use the available public setting and choose cross-play as intended | Finding players beyond your existing friends list | Public visibility is not the same as a private invitation; use Friends Only when you want a controlled group |
| PC host with mods | On or Off | Any lobby type | A PC-only group that has agreed on the same mod setup | Xbox and PlayStation players cannot join a PC host using mods, even when cross-play is enabled |
The table’s key distinction is that cross-play must be permitted in two places for a cross-platform session: each player’s global setting and the host’s lobby configuration.
Epic account linking: when it helps and when it is unnecessary
Cross-play and Epic account linking solve different problems. Cross-play determines whether different platforms can share a session. Account linking supplies an additional identity and social layer for finding those players and managing invitations.
Use linking when you need cross-platform discovery
If a Steam player cannot locate a PlayStation 5 or Xbox friend in the ordinary platform list, linking an Epic account gives access to cross-platform friend search through the Epic Online Services overlay. The same overlay can handle invitations, lobby visibility, and party management.
Skip linking when the existing invitation path works
If the host can already see the friend in the in-game or platform friends list, there is no requirement in the official guidance to link an Epic account just to enable cross-play. Avoid adding an account-linking step when everyone can already invite and join successfully.
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| Question | Unlinked Epic account | Linked Epic account |
|---|---|---|
| Can cross-play be used? | Yes; linking is optional for cross-play | Yes |
| Cross-platform friend search | Use the available in-game or platform list | Available through the Epic Online Services overlay |
| Cross-platform invitations | Use the available in-game or platform list | Can be sent through the Epic Online Services overlay |
| Lobby visibility and party management | Rely on the normal game/platform tools | The overlay adds these cross-platform functions |
Mods and the PC-host restriction
Void Interactive’s official guide states that mods are allowed on PC but not on consoles. It also states that console players cannot join a PC host using mods, even if cross-play is enabled.
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For a mixed-platform group, the safest procedure is:
- The PC player who will host disables or removes active mods before launching the lobby.
- The host restarts the game if necessary so the session is clearly unmodded.
- The host creates the Friends Only lobby with cross-play enabled.
- Console players join only after the PC host is running the unmodded session.
A PC-only group can make its own decision about mods, but a modded PC lobby should be treated as incompatible with Xbox and PlayStation participants. Changing the cross-play toggle cannot override that restriction.
What to do when a friend cannot join
The invitation never appears
- Confirm that the host sent the invitation through a friends list or overlay that both accounts can access.
- If the players use different platforms, verify that the host has a linked Epic account when cross-platform friend search is needed.
- Return to the main menu and confirm that the intended player has Cross-Play set to On.
- Have the host recreate the Friends Only lobby after correcting the settings, then send a fresh invitation.
The game asks the invited player to enable cross-play
This prompt means the invited account currently has cross-play disabled. The player should leave the invitation screen, open Main Menu > Settings > Gameplay Options, scroll to the bottom, turn Cross-Play on, and accept a new invitation. The setting cannot be changed from inside the active game.
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- Check that the PC host is not using mods. This is the most important platform-specific restriction.
- Confirm that the lobby itself allows cross-play; a globally enabled account can still create a lobby with cross-play disabled.
- Ask the console player to verify the global Cross-Play toggle on their own account.
- Recreate the lobby after all three checks pass and issue a new invitation.
Friends are on different platforms but cannot find one another
Use a linked Epic account and the Epic Online Services overlay for cross-platform friend search and invitations. Linking is not required for the game’s cross-play capability, but it can provide the discovery and party-management path that a platform-specific list lacks.
The group exceeds five players
Ready or Not supports up to five players in one cooperative session. Split the group into two lobbies. Do not treat a failed sixth invitation as a cross-play problem; it may simply exceed the session limit.
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Difficulty and cross-play can be selected while the host creates the lobby. Decide both before inviting the team so every player joins the same intended session. Use Friends Only when the goal is a private squad assembled from known players. A public lobby serves a different purpose: it increases visibility beyond the invited group and should not be used when the host wants invitations to be the only route into the session.
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The lobby’s cross-play selection is temporary to that lobby. If the next session has a different platform mix, check the creation screen again rather than assuming the previous lobby’s choice carries over.
A reliable pre-mission checklist
- There are no more than five players planned for the session.
- Every cross-platform participant has Cross-Play set to On under Main Menu > Settings > Gameplay Options.
- The host has selected Friends Only if the session is private.
- The host has selected the desired difficulty.
- The lobby’s cross-play choice matches the platform mix.
- The PC host is unmodded when Xbox or PlayStation players are joining.
- The invitation method is agreed: in-game/platform friends list or Epic Online Services overlay.
- Anyone who needed to change cross-play has returned to the main menu before trying to join.
Quick answers to the most common scenarios
Can Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 players play together?
Yes. Those are the platforms documented for Ready or Not cross-play, with up to five players in one cooperative session.
Do all players need an Epic account?
No. Official guidance describes Epic account linking as optional for cross-play. It is an additional way to search for cross-platform friends, send invitations, see lobbies, and manage parties.
Can I turn on cross-play after joining a mission?
No. The Cross-Play control is reached from the main menu’s Gameplay Options, so change it before creating or joining the lobby.
Why does a modded PC lobby block console players?
Console players cannot join a PC host using mods. Cross-play being enabled does not remove that restriction; the PC host must run an unmodded session for a mixed-platform group.
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For the least troublesome mixed-platform session, every player first enables Cross-Play from the main menu, the host creates a Friends Only lobby with cross-play enabled, and the host sends invitations through the normal friends list or the Epic Online Services overlay. Keep the PC host unmodded, use the lobby’s difficulty setting for the group, and stay within the five-player limit. If an invitation fails, check the player’s global toggle, the lobby-level choice, the invitation path, and the PC host’s mod status in that order.
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