How to Turn Off Crossplay in Overwatch 2

Hey friend! If you‘re playing Overwatch 2 on Xbox or PlayStation and want to disable crossplay, I‘ve got you covered. As a gaming geek, I totally understand why console players might want to opt out of playing against PC. Let‘s dive into what crossplay is, the ups and downs of having it on or off, and step-by-step instructions to turn it off.

What Exactly is Crossplay?

In case you‘re not familiar with the term, crossplay allows players on different gaming platforms to matchmake and play together. For example, with crossplay enabled in Overwatch 2, someone on PlayStation can team up with or face off against someone on Xbox or PC.

Crossplay has become increasingly popular over the last decade as more developers add support for it. Back in the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, siloed ecosystems were the norm. But gamers today expect more interconnected experiences.

According to Respawn product manager Aj Grandstaff, crossplay participation is up across the board:

"Crossplay participation is definitely increasing. Right now roughly 70% of Apex Legends players play with crossplay."

This has benefits like faster matchmaking and more choice in who you play with. But some disadvantages also exist, primarily for console players paired against PC. Let‘s examine these pros and cons.

The Benefits of Crossplay

Here are some of the main advantages that a crossplay environment provides:

• Bigger player pool – The more platforms able to matchmake together, the faster and higher quality matches can be made. No more struggling to find a game!

• Play with friends – Gamers today often have friends spread across different consoles and PC. Crossplay unites them.

• Healthy matchmaking – Avoid situations where playlists die off due to low population.

• Shared profiles – See all your progress and unlocks on one account across platforms.

Crossplay has reached critical mass where gamers now expect it as a standard feature. And when it works well, it absolutely achieves the goal of connecting players.

The Downsides of Crossplay for Console

However, there are some legitimate downsides primarily affecting console gamers:

• Mouse/keyboard advantage – The precision of mouse input gives PC players an edge in aiming and reaction time.

• Performance differences – PCs can run games at much higher framerates and graphics settings compared to console.

• Cheating concerns – Hacking and modding run more rampant on PC.

• Hardware parity – Previous-gen consoles are at a deeper disadvantage against PC and current-gen machines.

These factors can understandably make crossplay a frustrating experience for console users wanting a level playing field. Let‘s explore these issues in more depth.

The Superiority of Mouse & Keyboard

While console shooters rely on thumbstick aim assist to compensate, a mouse fundamentally provides faster, more accurate camera control and target acquisition. The entire right arm makes large sweeping movements for turns combined with precise wrist flicks for tracking.

This gives PC players clear advantages in several gameplay situations:

• Precise hitscan targeting – Think long range Ashe or Widowmaker exchanges.

• Quick 180 turns – Instantly spinning to deal with threats behind you.

• Flicking to sleep flankers – Effortlessly interrupting Tracers and Genjis.

• Headshot reliability – Easier to consistently click heads, especially on smaller hitboxes.

• Reactive gameplay – Responding quickly during brawls and reacting to abilities mid-fight.

While thumbsticks work great in many gameplay contexts, for competitive FPS, the mouse and keyboard simply can‘t be matched.

Performance Discrepancies

Beyond controls, PCs have hardware advantages that make games far smoother compared to console.

Higher end PCs can run Overwatch 2 at 144+ FPS at 1440p resolution or above. Even budget gaming PCs often hit 60+ FPS at 1080p.

Meanwhile, base PS4 and Xbox One struggle to maintain 60 FPS. And PS4/Xbox One versions are capped at 30 FPS with significant dips below that.

This lower framerate makes it much harder to precisely track opponents and hit shots. Gameplay feels muddy in comparison to silky smooth mouse-wielding PC players.

Likewise, graphics settings like draw distance and shadow quality give PC players informational advantages not available on low console settings.

Rampant Cheating on PC

Unfortunately, hacking runs rampant in many PC shooters. Aimbots and wallhacks give unscrupulous players major advantages.

According to the Apex Legends status Twitter account:

"In one recent ban wave, we banned over 8,000 players on PC alone for using hacking or cheating software."

While anti-cheat systems do their best to counter this, some cheaters inevitably slip through, ruining matches for others.

By disabling crossplay as a console user, you largely eliminate the risk of encountering cheaters.

Console Generational Divide

Another factor is the hardware disparity between console generations. The PS5 and Xbox Series X boast significant performance gains over last-gen systems.

As a PS4 or Xbox One player, you‘re doubly disadvantaged against both superior PC hardware and newer consoles. Their SSDs, graphics, and processors give smoother gameplay.

Disabling crossplay evens things out by limiting the matchmaking pool to your specific generation.

Evaluating Crossplay On A Case-By-Case Basis

Now that you understand the pros and cons, whether to disable crossplay depends on your personal priorities:

• Playing field fairness – The most compelling reason. Avoid hardware imbalance.

• Queue times – Weigh faster matching against lopsided competition.

• Cheating concerns – If hackers are running rampant, turning off crossplay may provide relief.

• Friend access – Keep crossplay on to group with pals on other platforms.

• Game mode health – Low population arcade modes may need crossplay to thrive.

• Casual vs competitive – Balance matters less in quick play than ranked.

I suggest evaluating it on a case-by-case basis for each game rather than keeping it on or off permanently.

Overwatch 2 makes it easy to toggle crossplay whenever desired, so test both ways to see what provides the most enjoyable experience for you.

Now let‘s get into the step-by-step process of disabling crossplay on both Xbox and PlayStation!

How to Turn Off Crossplay on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S

Disabling crossplay for Overwatch 2 on Xbox consoles is handled through the platform settings rather than an in-game option. Here are the steps:

1. From your Xbox dashboard homepage, open the Settings app.

2. Select Account.

3. Choose Privacy & online safety.

4. Scroll down and select Xbox privacy.

5. Under General, select View details & customize.

6. Choose Communication & multiplayer.

7. Under You can join cross-network play, select Block.

This will disable crossplay in Overwatch 2 and any other games that support the feature.

Now your matchmaking pool will be limited to only other Xbox players. Keep in mind that for less popular playlists, queue times may go up as a result.

The process is reversed to re-enable crossplay down the road. Just set the You can join cross-network play option back to Allow rather than Block.

How to Turn Off Crossplay on PlayStation 4 and PS5

For PlayStation players, the steps are slightly different:

1. Launch Overwatch 2 on your PlayStation console.

2. From the main menu, press the Options button on your controller.

3. Select Settings to open the options menu.

4. Choose Gameplay from the side menu.

5. Select the General tab.

6. Scroll down and find the Cross-Platform Play option.

7. Set Cross-Platform Play to Disabled.

8. Confirm your choice by selecting OK.

This will prevent you from matchmaking with players on other consoles or PC. You can always re-enable crossplay by flipping the Cross-Platform Play toggle back to Enabled and accepting the prompt.

Now you can enjoy Overwatch 2 knowing everyone is on a level playing field in terms of hardware. But expect somewhat longer wait times, especially for Assault and other less popular modes.

What About Disabling Crossplay on PC?

Unlike consoles, the Overwatch 2 PC version has no built-in setting to disable crossplay. It remains permanently enabled.

The only recourse PC players have is to group up as a full 6 stack team. This guarantees everyone is on PC rather than mixing with console players.

Blizzard has not indicated plans to add a PC crossplay disable option down the road. But community requests for it remain strong.

Comparing Crossplay in Overwatch 1 vs 2

The Overwatch development team overhauled how crossplay works in the transition from the first game to the sequel:

• Overwatch 1 – Opt-in system where crossplay was disabled by default.

• Overwatch 2 – Now enabled by default with option to opt out on console.

Product manager John Lum explained the reasoning behind this shift:

"We wanted to align ourselves with industry standards by making crossplay opt-out rather than opt-in."

By taking an opt-out approach, the social features like friend adding, player profiles, and cosmetics are unified across platforms.

New systems like cross-progression also play a role. Your account data including unlocked heroes, skins, and competitive rank are shared everywhere.

An opt-in system would have splintered things back into separate ecosystems. So while controversial, default crossplay makes sense given Blizzard‘s goals.

Gameplay Scenarios Where Crossplay Is Most Impactful

To give a better idea of how crossplay concretely affects gameplay, here are some examples:

• Widowmaker duels – Pixel perfect aim and instant flicks help PC players consistently win sniper battles.

• Close quarters combat – The faster reaction time of mouse users provides an edge in chaotic teamfights.

• Sleeping ultimates – Ana players on PC more reliably silence key targets like Genji because of easy flicks.

• Pharah direct hits – Tracking and predicting mid-air opponents is far simpler with a mouse than joystick.

• Turn speed – Keyboard users spin around instantly to confront threats behind them.

• Movement abilities – Quick flick shots on targets like Mercy and Echo are tougher on controllers.

• Ability dodging – Sidestepping reactive plays like flashbang or sleep dart is easier with mouse movement.

• Headshot consistency – Console aim assist helps, but mousing naturally provides more reliable crits.

These examples showcase how the input device and precision it enables can sway interactions, especially in competitive modes where tiny margins decide fights.

Understanding Console Aim Assist

One factor that helps compensate for the analog stick challenge on controllers is aim assist. Let‘s compare how it works across platforms:

• Xbox – Has the strongest degree of aim slowdown and rotation out of the box. Makes small adjustments to ease target tracking.

• PlayStation – More subtle slowdown effect by default. Less automatic rotation assistance.

• PC controller – Gets a minor degree of aim assist, but far less pronounced than console.

Aim assist slides your crosshair towards enemies or decelerates aiming speed when the reticle nears a target. But there are still limitations:

• Only engages within a certain radius, depending on the aim assist setting strength. Useless at long range.

• Can drag crosshair off target just as easily. Doesn‘t automatically stick perfectly.

• Throwing off your aim manually overrides the effect. Great players learn to work with or without it.

• Only slows aiming down, doesn‘t actually turn for you. Requires thumb skill for tracking.

• No assist tracking enemies through walls, only when visible.

For these reasons, aim assist doesn‘t completely offset the mouse precision gap, but it does help balance things out.

Tips to Compete Against PC Players

Here are some tips console players can use to stay competitive when paired against mouse users:

• Play heroes like Reinhardt or Mercy where mechanical aim is less important.

• Stick with teammates rather than taking isolated duels you‘ll likely lose.

• Use cover judiciously to limit exposure against snipers with perfect aim.

• Flank less since quick flick shots easily disrupt you.

• Practice movement like crouch strafing to be harder to hit.

• Focus on game sense – Ability timing, ult tracking, positioning.

• Predict enemy movements rather than purely reacting.

• Lower aim assist window size for fewer disruptions up close.

• Raise aim smoothing to help compensate for joystick inaccuracy.

• Go into settings and find aim technique that suits your strengths.

• Party up with PC friends so you have safety in numbers.

With the right tactics and practice, console players can still excel even when at a hardware disadvantage.

But again, disabling crossplay is there if you want to eliminate the skill gap altogether and enjoy Overwatch 2 with all players on a level field.

Closing Thoughts on Overwatch 2 Crossplay

Like any complex issue, crossplay has nuance. At higher skill levels on console, disabling it makes sense for a fair chance to compete and showcase controller skill ceiling.

But for casual play, keeping it on maintains quick matchmaking and playing with more friends. Prioritize your personal preferences.

I suggest trying Overwatch 2 both ways for a few days to determine what provides the most fun experience for you. There‘s no universally right or wrong answer.

Now you have all the information to make an informed decision on disabling crossplay. I hope this guide helped explain the ins and outs of this divisive topic.

Stay tuned for more awesome OW2 guides soon covering hero counters, game mode overviews, Bronze to GM climbing tips, and more. Let‘s get that W!