Is Raft Cross Platform? The Survival Guide You Were Looking For

You’ve seen the clips. You and your friends, stranded on a few planks of wood, fighting off a shark while trying to build a floating mansion. It looks chaotic, hilarious, and exactly the kind of game night you need. But then the reality sets in: you’re on PC, your best friend is on Xbox, and your cousin just bought a PS5. You pause, axe in hand, and search: Is Raft Cross Platform actually supported?

I’ve been in that exact spot. Trying to coordinate a gaming session across three different ecosystems is usually a nightmare. But I have good news for you. After years of waiting and “PC only” exclusivity, the developers finally threw us a lifeline.

The Short Answer: Is Raft Cross Platform A Thing?

Yes, Is Raft Cross Platform supported? Absolutely.

As of the major console update (which dropped back in late 2024), Raft officially supports crossplay between PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

This isn’t one of those “kind of” crossplay situations where you can only matchmake randomly. You can fully invite friends, join their worlds, and survive together regardless of which of these devices you are using. The barriers are finally gone—mostly.

Is Raft Cross Platform

The “But” (Because There’s Always One)

Before you rush to the store, we need to talk about the hardware. The console version of Raft was built specifically for the current generation.

  • Supported: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S.
  • Not Supported: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.

If you or your friends are still rocking the older consoles (PS4/Xbox One), you cannot download the game natively. The developers focused on the newer hardware to handle the ocean physics and massive builds. It sucks if you haven’t upgraded yet, but don’t panic—I have a workaround for you later in this guide.

How to Play Raft Cross-Platform (Step-by-Step)

Connecting different platforms isn’t as simple as just hitting “Invite” on your friends list, because Steam doesn’t natively “see” your PlayStation friends. You have to use the game’s internal system.

Here is how we get everyone on the same boat:

  1. Enable Crossplay: When the host creates the world, look for the “Allow Crossplay” or “Cross-Platform” tick box in the settings. This must be checked.
  2. Get the Game Code: Once the world is loaded, the host needs to open the pause menu. You will see a “Game Code” or “Session ID” (usually a mix of letters and numbers).
  3. Share the Code: Read that code out to your friends.
  4. Join via Code: On the joining player’s main menu, look for “Join World” and then “Join via Code” (or “Enter Game ID”). Punch it in, and you should spawn right on their raft.

Pro Tip for PC Players: If you can’t see the crossplay option, check your Steam settings. For a while, this feature lived in a “Beta” branch. While it should be standard now, if you are having trouble, right-click Raft in Steam > Properties > Betas and see if there is a “Crossplay” or “Console” branch available.

Do Checkout: Is DayZ Crossplay | Is Outlast Trials Crossplay | Is Fighterz Crossplay

The Workaround: How to Play on PS4, Xbox One, or Mobile

Okay, so what if your friend is stuck on an Xbox One or a low-end laptop? I promised I wouldn’t leave them behind.

Since the game isn’t natively on old consoles, we have to cheat the system using Cloud Gaming.

For Xbox One Players

You can use Xbox Cloud Gaming (if you have Game Pass Ultimate).

  1. Go to the “Cloud Gaming” section on your Xbox One dashboard.
  2. Find Raft.
  3. Hit “Play”.This streams the Series X version of the game to your Xbox One. You get all the next-gen features (including crossplay!) without needing the new console.

For Mobile / Low-End PC Players

Use NVIDIA GeForce Now.

  1. Sign up for a GeForce Now account (there’s a free tier).
  2. Link your Steam account.
  3. Launch Raft through the GeForce Now app on your phone, tablet, or potato laptop.
  4. You are now playing the PC version via the cloud, and you can join your console friends just fine.

Final Thoughts

We waited a long time for this. For years, Raft was a lonely experience for console gamers, but now we can finally shark-bait our friends regardless of what plastic box they play on.

Just remember: keep your hook ready, watch your thirst meter, and for the love of god, don’t eat the raw shark meat.

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