Like most modern multiplatform games with multiplayer mechanics, Civilization VII boasts full crossplay support. This means that whether you’re playing Civ 7 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch, you’ll be able to square off against your friends on other platforms for a spot of multiplayer madness.
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Thankfully, the process for playing Civ 7 with friends is remarkably easy, although there may be one or two extra steps involved if any of those friends happen to be playing on a different platform. The following guide will explain how crossplay works in Civilization VII, as well as how to play with friends.
How Does Crossplay Work in Civ 7?
Civ 7 crossplay is enabled by default, although players can toggle it on and off by visiting the “Game” section of the options menu, where they’ll find the option for crossplay under the “Advanced” heading. As PC players are able to use Civ 7 cheats to gain an unfair advantage, console players may wish to disable crossplay when they’re not using it to play with people they know. In a similar vein, PC players may wish to disable Civ 7 crossplay when they’re not actively using it to avoid having to deal with limitations imposed on certain platforms like the Nintendo Switch.
According to the 1.012 patch notes, some Civ 7 updates and patches will be rolled out earlier on PC than on other platforms. As a result, crossplay between PC and console players will occasionally be temporarily disabled until everybody is playing on the same version of the game. It’s important to note that Civ 7 crossplay between console players will still be enabled during these periods.
How to Play with Friends in Civ 7
In order to play Civ 7 with friends, players will need to go to the Multiplayer menu. There, they’ll either need to create a new game or join an existing one. For the former, they should press the button or key displayed to the left of “Create Game” at the bottom of the screen. For the latter, they should press the button displayed next to “JOIN CODE” and then type in the code provided to them by their friend.
If players create their own lobby, they’ll need to fill out a few details to setup the game, after which, they can either share their Join Code with friends or invite them directly to the lobby. To find their Join Code, they can press the button next to “SHOW JOIN CODE”, which is in the top left-hand corner of the screen. To invite friends, they should find the people they’d like to invite under the “Friends” or “Recent Players” tab of the Social menu and then click on “Invite”.
Due to platform limitations, those playing Civ 7 on Switch will only be able to use the Duel, Tiny, and Small map sizes. As such, these restrictions will also be in place for multiplayer lobbies in which a Switch player is present. Conversely, Switch players may be unable to join a lobby if the map size is anything other than Duel, Tiny, or Small.
How to Add Friends on Other Platforms in Civ 7
By default, friends playing on the same platform will automatically show up on each other’s friends lists; assuming, that is, that they are already friends on Steam, PSN, Nintendo Online, or Xbox Live. However, friends playing on different platforms will need to connect using their 2K accounts if they want to appear on each other’s friends lists.
To do so, they’ll need to press the button or key to the left of “Find 2K Friends” in the bottom left-hand corner of the Social menu and then type in their friend’s 2K ID to send a friend request. Assuming their friend accepts it, they’ll appear on the player’s friends list, allowing them to invite their friend to lobbies directly via the Social menu.
Players can also add friends via the Recent Players tab of the Social menu, so some may find it easier to use a Join Code to get into the same lobby as their friends and then send them friend requests from there.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
-
February 11, 2025
FAQ
Q: Does Civ 7 Support Crossplay?
Yes. Civilization VII supports crossplay on all available platforms, meaning that people on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X can all play the game together.