Everything you need to know about Elden Ring cross-platform and cross-gen
Make your multiplayer plans.
Just like with any FromSoftware game, multiplayer is a major component of Elden Ring. If you’ve played past games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne, you’ll have a good idea of what hacking and slashing you’ll need to do to be successful. Elden Ring features the trademark multiplayer elements of the genre, whether you’re looking to invade another player’s game or simply looking for some co-op help. Crossplay is a big topic of any online title these days, so here’s everything you need to know about crossplay and multiplayer in Elden Ring.
Does Elden Ring have crossplay?
Elden Ring features cross-generation play, meaning players on the same family of systems, like PS4 and PS5, can play together.
Unfortunately, Elden Ring does not feature full crossplay support between different consoles and PC. This means players on PS5, for example, won’t be able to play with anyone on Xbox and PC. There is some good news, however, as Elden Ring has cross-generation support on the same family of consoles. This means that players on PS4 and PS5 can play together, while players on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S can also play together.
It’s certainly possible that FromSoftware could implement full crossplay at some point in the future, but it seems highly unlikely as the Dark Souls series still has never implemented full crossplay.
How does multiplayer work in Elden Ring?
Elden Ring’s multiplayer is very similar to that of Dark Souls, as it revolves around using different items.
Elden Ring’s multiplayer is fairly simple to use, and just like in Dark Souls you need to use a variety of different items to win the fray. Early on in the story, you’ll get the Tarnished’s Furled Finger, which will let you put down a gold summoning sign that other players can use to call you into their world. If you want to summon another player yourself, you’ll need to use a Furlcalling Finger Remedy, which will allow you to see summoning signs. In addition to these two items, there’s a host of other multiplayer-focused items, which you can see below.
- Tarnished’s Wizened Finger - Used to write messages in the world.
- Finger Severer - Sends a summoned player back to their own world.
- Duelist’s Furled Finger - Lets you leave a red summon sign for competitive multiplayer.
- Bloody Finger - Lets you attempt to invade another player’s world.
- Taunter’s Tongue - Allows other players to invade your world.
- Small Golden Effigy - Sends a cooperative sign to the closest summoning pool.
- Small Red Effigy - Sends a competitive sign to the closest summoning pool.
- Blue Cipher Ring - Puts you in a ready state if another player calls for help with invaders.
- White Cipher Ring - Puts you in a ready state to automatically send requests for help if you’re invaded.
Elden Ring’s main menu has a multiplayer section where you’ll be able to find all of these items. In that menu, you can also set up password systems to filter out random players, meaning only people with your password can join.
Elden Ring launches on September 25 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
