Is UFC 5 crossplay?

After years of waiting, UFC 5 arrived to carry the franchise forward with even more intense visuals and combat that ever before. The game has now firmly taken position in the next generation of consoles, but not every feature fans hoped for is there. We'll quickly answer whether UFC 5 is crossplay and what the future of cross-platform play could look like.

Is UFC 5 crossplay?

No, sadly UFC 5 crossplay is not available in the game at launch. As of now, the only platforms that support UFC 5 are PS5 and Xbox Series X|S and you'll only be able to fight against players on the same platform as you.

While UFC 4 remains available on Xbox Game Pass and EA Play (with a pretty similar selection compared to the UFC 5 roster) for Xbox One and PS4 players, as of now there are no plans to bring UFC 5 to that past generation of consoles. With the new impact system and high resolution player models taking full advantage of next gen technology, they've chosen not to attempt a poorer looking port to older consoles.

Unfortunately, comments from UFC 5 development team member Nate McDonald about this move and decision to leave out crossplay have primarily reiterated their focus on "true to life gameplay and incorporating the visuals that Frostbite's unlocked for UFC 5." While disappointing on the surface, that comment may signal some hope on the horizon.

UFC 5 doesn't actually operate like every other annual release game on the market, as they drop regular updates over a multi-year period expanding the existing roster and features. While nothing is confirmed as of yet, a post-launch update implementing UFC 5 crossplay just might be possible. 

If the development team chooses to wait, then crossplay might remain a distant dream until the release of UFC 6. Hopefully that isn't the case though, as UFC 6 is probably three to four years away at minimum.