Don't use the invite menu for cross-platform friends — it only shows people on your own platform. Since patch 1.01 (July 21) there is a proper route: the host sets a password on their session, shares it in chat, and everyone else uses that password to find the exact lobby. That replaced the old hunt-for-a-name-in-the-public-list workaround. Make sure everyone is actually on 1.01 or newer first — this does not exist on older builds.
Playing with a cross-platform friend, step by step
Everyone updates to 1.01 or newer
Session passwords arrived on July 21. If one person is on an older build the option is not there for them, and the join fails for a reason the game never explains. Close and reopen the game on console — it can sit on an old build otherwise.
One player hosts and sets a password
Whoever has the best connection creates an online game rather than using matchmaking, and sets a password in the server settings. Patch 1.01 added exactly this setting so a specific lobby can be found on purpose.
Share the password, not the invite
Post it in Discord or say it in voice. Do not use the in-game invite menu for cross-platform friends — it only lists people on your own platform, which is the part that is still broken.
Everyone else joins with the password
Use the online game finder and the password to reach the host's exact session. The launch update also added a language column to that screen, which helps narrow things down if you are searching manually.
Four reasons a join fails
"Crossplay is broken" covers four different problems, and only one of them is the invite bug. Work down this list before assuming the worst.
The cross-platform invite bug
The tell · Your friend list in-game only shows people on your own platform. PS5 players report seeing no room code at all for PC friends.
ACE Team confirmed this one directly — they "identified an issue whereby you cannot invite your friends to play via Crossplay." They have not announced that the invite button itself is fixed. What they did ship, in patch 1.01, is the session password above: treat it as the method, not a stopgap.
Someone is on the Open Beta branch
The tell · Crossplay silently fails for one specific person while everyone else connects fine.
Crossplay is disabled entirely on the Open Beta branch — beta players can only see other beta players. Have them switch back in Steam → Properties → Game Versions & Betas, or have everyone opt in together.
Version mismatch
The tell · The join attempt fails immediately, or the host's session never appears in the list.
Patches have been landing fast since launch. Make sure everyone has fully downloaded the same update — consoles in particular can sit on an old build until the game is closed and reopened.
You're all on the same platform
The tell · You're reading this page and everyone is on Steam.
Then invites should work normally — the bug is specific to mixed-platform crews. If a same-platform invite fails, treat it as a connection problem and check the crash and performance guides.
What ACE Team has shipped, and what it hasn't
Shipped, July 21 in patch 1.01:"added server setting to be able to find sessions using a password." ACE Team titled that patch "Crossplay Friend Finder," which tells you what it was for. It is the permanent replacement for the old advice of scanning a public list for a host's name — and it is the reason most of what you'll read about this problem online is now out of date. Full list on our patch notes page.
Not announced as fixed:the in-game invite button itself. ACE Team confirmed the invite bug and said they were working on it, but no announcement since has said it is resolved. So don't wait for the invite menu to start working — set a password and move on. If that changes, this page changes with it.
One warning worth repeating, because it silently breaks crews: the Open Beta branch turns crossplay off. If one person opts in to test the performance patch and nobody else does, they vanish from your session list entirely — and the game does not tell you that's why. Either everyone opts in or nobody does.
Everything else about the co-op — crew size, solo play with an AI companion, cross-progression, proximity voice — is on the main crossplay and co-op page. If your problem is the game crashing rather than the joining, start with the fatal error fixes.
Where to next
Which platforms play together, crew size, solo play and cross-progression.
The launch update, the Open Beta branch, and the fixes still in development.
If the game is crashing rather than failing to connect.
FPS, stutter and the settings that matter most.
Once the crew is together — your first expedition, step by step.
What launch-week crews wish they'd known.
Crossplay invite questions
Why can't I invite my friend on PS5 from Steam?
It's a confirmed bug, not something you're doing wrong — the in-game friend list only shows people on your own platform, so cross-platform invites never reach their target. Don't use the invite menu. Since patch 1.01 (July 21) the host can set a password on their session; share that password and your friend joins the exact lobby.
Is there a way to password-protect a session for friends?
Yes, since patch 1.01 on July 21, 2026. ACE Team added a server setting to find sessions using a password — it was the headline item of the patch they titled "Crossplay Friend Finder." Advice telling you to hunt for a host's name in the public list predates that patch.
Is crossplay actually broken in The Mound?
No — crossplay works. Steam, PS5 and Xbox players genuinely play together. Only the invite mechanism across platforms is broken, and session passwords route around it.
Why did my friend disappear from crossplay after an update?
Check whether they opted into the Open Beta branch. Crossplay is disabled on that branch — beta players can only match with other beta players, and the game doesn't warn you. Either everyone opts in or everyone stays on the stable build. After a patch goes live, restart Steam or revert the branch to pick it up.
Do same-platform invites work?
Yes. If your whole crew is on Steam, or all on PS5, invites behave normally. The bug is specific to mixed-platform groups.
Do we all need the same version for passwords to work?
Yes — session passwords arrived in patch 1.01, so anyone still on the launch build won't see the option and won't be findable that way. Consoles can sit on an old build until the game is fully closed and reopened.
Sources: ACE Team's own statements in the Steam discussion thread on crossplay invites, plus the official launch and Open Beta announcements summarised on our patch notes page.