Hi-Rez Studios believes gamers should be able to play with their friends -- and access their content -- regardless of what platform they play on.
We are incredibly excited to be at the forefront of this great cross-platform movement. As we are among the first developers to offer cross-platform play and progression, we are still defining best practices hand-in-hand with platform providers.
As we are several months from the launch of cross-platform play and progression, the content of this FAQ is still an early draft. Certain details may be adjusted as we move closer to launch, both to address technical concerns and improve the cross-platform experience for our players.
Cross-play and cross-progression will begin with the 2.2 update for Paladins in mid-February, and the 6.1 update for SMITE in mid-February.
Realm Royale will support cross-play from day 1 of release. Cross-progression will be added to Realm Royale at a later date.
Yes! We will be adding cross-platform voice chat to SMITE alongside our cross-play system. Cross-platform voice chat will be added to Realm Royale and Paladins at a later date.
No! With crossplay, we are planning to have all platforms update together so each platform will be on the same patch.
In 2019 we will continue to support separate and dedicated SMITE and Paladins esports leagues on PC and Console.
You will be able to report players just like you do today, regardless of platform.
Yes! For cross-play platforms, there will be a global, cross-platform leaderboard.
As players will be able to move freely from across platforms and input methods on a single account, all players will be tracked on the same leaderboard regardless of their main platform or control scheme.
Your console name will not change and can not be changed on our end.
As soon as you log in to a linked Paladins or SMITE Account on PC for the first time, you will be prompted to choose a new in-game name. Your previous in-game name will be reserved for 30 days so nobody but you can claim it, so you are welcome to continue using the same in-game name as you had before. If you abide by the “new year, new me” philosophy, you are welcome to pick a new username at this time!
Cross-play will be supported across PC launcher, Steam, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. We are technically ready to support cross-play on other platforms as the opportunity arises.
No! You will be able to play on any platform without first creating a Hi-Rez Account.
By default, casual matchmaking will find the best matches for players regardless of platform or input method.
SMITE and Paladins players can choose to play only against players with the same input method (either keyboard and mouse, or controller) in casual matches. However, players will find higher quality matches, more quickly, by leaving cross-input matchmaking enabled.
SMITE and Paladins ranked matchmaking will be divided strictly by input method. Players will only ever play against other players using the same input method in ranked.
Realm Royale players will always be placed in cross-platform matchmaking.
Yes!
Note: If you have both controller and keyboard and mouse users in your party, your party will queue for cross-input matchmaking regardless of player preferences. You cannot play ranked matches with cross-input parties.
Yes! We will be adding mouse and keyboard support to Xbox One alongside the launch of cross-play for Paladins, and we are currently looking into adding this for SMITE sometime after cross-play. We intend to add mouse and keyboard support to other platforms which support that input method as they join our cross-play environment.
Note: You will not be able to shift input method during a match. If you start a match on controller, you will not be allowed to plug in a mouse and keyboard -- or vice versa.
Friends lists will be universal, across all platforms. Upon cross-progression and cross-play launch, you will be able to add a friend from any platform.
If you have friends from any console account, they will not transfer with you during cross-progression and account linking, but you will be able to easily add them back via the “suggested friends” tab.
There are separate leaderboards for each input. Whichever input you currently have selected will be the rank you are shown and the queue you will enter into.
Can’t fool us that easy, we prepared for this. Once you enter a queue on a specific setting, you are stuck with that input for the rest of the match. You will not be able to play the game with the other input until the game is over.
Upon account merge, you will retain the Ranked progress from your account with the highest experience. For example, if you’re Grand Master on Xbox at level 60 and Diamond on PC at level 30, your account will be Grand Master after the merge.
By linking your separate platform accounts to a Hi-Rez Account, you will effectively have one account across PC launcher, PC Steam, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. We are technically ready to support cross-progression on other platforms as the opportunity arises.
Some platform specific skins, containing the Xbox logo for example, may not be available on every platform. Additionally, some items contained in DLC bundles may only be available on the platform where the DLC was purchased, due to platform requirements.
I play on multiple platforms. How will you treat my separate progress and purchases on different platforms?
When cross-progression is enabled, we will merge your owned content across platform accounts linked with your Hi-Rez Account, in accordance with platform provider policies.
Crystals & Gems owned on PC and Nintendo Switch will be added together and will only be able to be used on those platforms. Xbox Crystals & Gems will be able to be used across all platforms. Going forward, Crystals & Gems purchased on PC & Nintendo Switch will only be able to be used on linked PC and Nintendo Switch accounts. Crystals & Gems purchased on Xbox will be able to be used across all platforms.
We know that’s a little confusing, so check out this helpful diagram:
| Virtual Currency is: | Used on Xbox | Used on PC | Used on Switch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased on Xbox | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Purchased on PC | x | ✔ | ✔ |
| Purchased on Switch | x | ✔ | ✔ |
I bought the same thing on multiple different platforms. Will I get a refund when accounts are merged?
No. Given the myriad different ways players can acquire content in our games (free Gems and Crystals, gifts, chest rolls, direct purchase, sales, etc.), we cannot accurately determine how to credit players.
Yes. Your content will only be available across platform accounts that are linked with your Hi-Rez Account.
You can only link one account per type to a Hi-Rez Account. For example, you can link a Microsoft Account and a Steam Account to a Hi-Rez Account, but you may not link two Steam Accounts to a Hi-Rez Account.
Yes. However: If you unlink an account after it has been merged, all progress and purchases will be removed from that account, and it will essentially become a new, level 1 account.
Only one external account per platform can be linked to one Hi-Rez Account. Unlinking your external account will result in a permanent break and you will not be able to link an additional external account from the same platform.
Account XP will be added together from all your accounts. For SMITE, the account that has the highest level across all of your accounts will be your new primary account where all of your content will merge into; your experience across all accounts is combined into this account.