7 Days to Die Crossplay Explained
Complete guide to crossplay in 7 Days to Die update 1.2. Learn how to host and join cross-platform sessions on PC, PS5, and Xbox, plus current limitations and workarounds.
As of update 1.2 (released December 2024), 7 Days to Die supports full crossplay between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. You can host and join peer-to-peer sessions across all three platforms on any Pregen or Random Gen map — with a hard cap of 8 players and a maximum world size of 8192. PC players must run an unmodified game. Dedicated server crossplay is not yet live but is confirmed for the next major update, Storms Brewing.
Here’s everything you need to get a cross-platform session running, what to expect from the current limitations, and what else update 1.2 brings to multiplayer.
How Crossplay Works in 7 Days to Die
Update 1.2 introduced peer-to-peer crossplay as its headline feature. That means one player acts as the host and others connect directly to their session — no dedicated server infrastructure sits between you. PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X players can all share the same world, whether it’s a Pregen map or a custom Random Gen seed.
The system is built around two roles: the host and the joiners. The host controls all the session settings — visibility, password protection, player cap — and their hardware essentially runs the show. This matters more than it might seem. The host’s machine is doing the heavy lifting for everyone in the session, so if they’re on an older system, performance will degrade faster as the player count climbs toward 8.
PC players have one extra constraint that console players don’t: your game installation must be completely unmodified. Any active mods — including graphics tweaks, content overhauls, or quality-of-life packs — will block crossplay from functioning. The game checks for this at session setup, not mid-game, so you won’t get an error after loading a world. You’ll need to deactivate or remove mods before you even configure the session.
One important gap in current coverage: players on the Japanese PS5 version of the game cannot access crossplay features yet. The Fun Pimps have confirmed this will be addressed, but no specific fix date has been announced as of January 2025.
How to Host a Crossplay Session
The hosting setup runs through the same menu whether you’re starting a brand-new world or loading an existing save. Select either New Game or Continue Game from the main menu — the settings panel on the right side of the screen is where all the crossplay configuration happens.
- Server Enabled → Online. This is the master switch. Until it’s set to Online, none of the other server options are interactive.
- Server Visibility → Public. This is the most counterintuitive step. Setting visibility to Friends prevents cross-platform players from finding your session — even if you’ve manually shared your gamertag with them. Public is currently required for crossplay to function. Use a password to control access instead of relying on the Friends filter.
- Crossplay Enabled → On. Once visibility is set to Public, this toggle becomes available. Switch it on.
- Max Players → 8 or fewer. If your player cap is set above 8, friends on other platforms won’t be able to find or connect to your world. This isn’t a soft warning — the session simply won’t appear in cross-platform searches.
Once those four settings are configured, load the world. Your session is now discoverable to players on other platforms who search for your gamertag. If you’ve set a password, share it through your preferred chat app before anyone tries to connect — there’s no in-game password hint system.
A note on world size: the current crossplay maximum is 8192. That’s a substantial map, and for most co-op groups it won’t feel limiting. Larger sizes are locked out for crossplay sessions specifically, regardless of what your local game settings allow.
How to Join a Crossplay Session
Joining is straightforward. From the main menu, select Join a Game. You’ll see a search field — enter the exact gamertag of the player hosting the session. Capitalization and spelling need to match, so confirm the tag with your friend beforehand.
Hit Start Search. If the host’s session is live and properly configured (public visibility, crossplay enabled, player count under 8), their world will appear in the results. Select it, enter the password if they’ve set one, and you’re in.
That’s genuinely all there is to it on the joining side. No platform-specific hoops, no separate friend-list syncing required. The gamertag search does the work across all three platforms.
If the session doesn’t appear after a search, the troubleshooting section below covers the most common reasons.
Crossplay Limitations You Need to Know
The peer-to-peer architecture is the most significant structural limitation right now. In a dedicated server setup, the server runs independently — the host can log off, players can connect at any time, and performance is consistent regardless of any one player’s hardware. None of that applies here. If the host closes the game, the session ends for everyone. If the host’s machine is struggling, everyone feels it.
The Fun Pimps have confirmed dedicated server support for crossplay is coming with the Storms Brewing update, but no release window has been given beyond that.
| Limitation | Current State | Expected Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated server crossplay | Not available | Storms Brewing update |
| Max players | 8 | Unconfirmed |
| Max world size | 8192 | Unconfirmed |
| PC mods in crossplay | Not supported | No announcement |
| Friends-only visibility | Crossplay incompatible | No announcement |
| Japanese PS5 version | Crossplay unavailable | Early 2025 fix confirmed |
The 8-player cap deserves more context than it usually gets. In a peer-to-peer game where the host’s hardware carries the load, 8 players is actually a fairly generous ceiling given the performance demands. 7 Days to Die’s world simulation — zombie AI, loot generation, physics, blood moons — scales hard with player count. Community testing suggests sessions with 6-8 players on underpowered host machines see noticeable frame drops, particularly during horde nights. If you’re running a larger group, the player with the strongest PC or console should be the host.
The mod restriction on PC is worth taking seriously if your group has been playing with any overhaul mods. The game does not automatically disable mods when you launch a crossplay session — you have to do it manually through the mod manager before configuring the session. Skip this step and the crossplay toggle either won’t appear or won’t function correctly.
Update 1.2 Features That Improve Multiplayer
Crossplay was the headline, but update 1.2 shipped with several quality-of-life changes that make the actual multiplayer experience noticeably better — regardless of which platform you’re on.
The fix to cross-platform friend searching in the server browser is bigger than it sounds. Before 1.2, Xbox and PS5 players couldn’t reliably find each other through the browser at all. That’s been resolved, which means the gamertag search system described above actually works consistently now rather than returning blank results.
There’s also a new blocklist accessible from the settings menu. For anyone who’s dealt with griefers in public sessions — and at the Public visibility level required for crossplay, you will eventually encounter them — this is a meaningful addition. The list persists across sessions, so a blocked player stays blocked and can’t simply rejoin next time you host.
Dynamic enemy scaling is arguably the most impactful gameplay change for crossplay groups. Enemy count and difficulty now adjust based on the collective game stage of players in the session, rather than defaulting to the host’s stage or a fixed value. A group with mixed experience levels — say, a veteran player dragging in two friends who just started — won’t immediately face horde difficulty tuned for the veteran’s progression. This makes crossplay sessions with uneven groups significantly more playable from day one.
New graphics options give hosts more granular control over performance settings, which matters specifically because the host’s machine sets the ceiling for everyone else. Being able to pull back rendering load without dropping to the lowest preset is useful when you’re trying to keep a 6-player session stable through a blood moon.
Troubleshooting Common Crossplay Issues
Friend’s session isn’t appearing in search. Check four things in order: their Server Visibility must be Public (not Friends), Crossplay Enabled must be toggled on, Max Players must be 8 or below, and on PC, their game must be unmodified. Any one of these being wrong will make the session invisible to cross-platform searches.
PC player can’t enable crossplay toggle. The toggle is grayed out if Server Visibility is set to Friends. Switch visibility to Public first — the crossplay option becomes interactive immediately after.
Session drops when one player disconnects. This is expected behavior in peer-to-peer. If the host disconnects, everyone is kicked. If a non-host player drops, the session continues. There’s no current workaround for host disconnection beyond designating a host with a stable connection before the session starts.
Performance degrades heavily with more players. The host’s hardware is the bottleneck. Have the host lower their graphics settings using the new options from update 1.2, reduce view distance, and if the group is running 7-8 players, consider dropping to 6 during blood moon events specifically. Performance issues during horde nights are disproportionately severe compared to normal exploration.
Japanese PS5 version shows no crossplay options at all. This is a regional restriction, not a settings error. The Fun Pimps have confirmed a fix is in progress, targeted for early 2025. There’s no workaround currently available.
Mods were deactivated but crossplay still won’t enable. Fully restart the game after deactivating mods. Some mod managers don’t cleanly clear hooks until the game executable is closed and reopened. A clean launch after deactivation resolves this in most cases.
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