Is The Forest Cross-Platform? (2026 Definitive Answer)
Last updated: May 24, 2026.
Short answer: No. The Forest is on PC (Steam) and PlayStation 4 only, with no crossplay between them. The two builds are completely separate ecosystems. Eight years after launch, there is no announced plan for crossplay or for new platforms.
The Forest Platform Availability (2026)
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PC (Steam, Windows) | Yes (since May 2018) | Full multiplayer up to 8 players. Active modding scene. |
| PC (macOS / Linux) | Unofficial via Proton | Compatibility varies; not Endnight-supported. |
| PlayStation 4 | Yes (since November 2018) | Multiplayer up to 8 players. Self-contained PS4 ecosystem. |
| PlayStation 5 | Backward-compatible (no native version) | PS4 build runs on PS5 via BC; no DualSense / 4K / 60 FPS native upgrade. |
| Xbox One / Series | No | Never released. No announced plans. |
| Nintendo Switch / Switch 2 | No | Never released. No announced plans. |
The Crossplay Compatibility Matrix (Spoiler: All No)
| Platform A | Platform B | Crossplay? |
|---|---|---|
| PC (Steam) | PlayStation 4 | No |
| PC (Steam) | PlayStation 5 (BC) | No (PS5 runs the PS4 build, separate from PC) |
| PC (Steam, Windows) | PC (Steam, Linux/Proton) | Yes (same Steam build) |
| PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 5 (BC) | Yes (same PS4 build runs on both) |
| Any platform | Xbox / Switch | N/A - not available on those platforms |
Why The Forest Never Got Crossplay
Three reasons, stacked:
1. The Forest predates the modern crossplay era
The Forest launched on Steam in 2014 (Early Access) and shipped 1.0 in May 2018. The PS4 port followed in November 2018. At that time, cross-platform play between PC and console was uncommon: Rocket League had it, Fortnite was just enabling it, and most survival games (including everything in The Forest's direct genre) shipped platform-locked. The architecture was never designed for it.
2. The PS4 port is a separate codebase
The PS4 build was developed by an external porting team and runs on a different version of the engine than the PC build. The two share level data and content but differ in networking, save format, and netcode timing. Bridging them after the fact would require substantial engineering work that Endnight is not doing.
3. Endnight has moved on to Sons of the Forest
Endnight's development focus since 2019 has been Sons of the Forest, which launched in Early Access in 2023 and hit 1.0 in February 2024. The studio is small and the prospect of going back to add cross-platform play to a seven-year-old codebase has not been a priority. The Forest still receives occasional patches but no major feature additions.
What Mixed-Platform Groups Can Do
If your group is split between PC and PlayStation:
- All play on Steam. Cheapest path. The Forest goes on sale regularly to a few dollars per copy. Everyone joins the same Steam multiplayer session.
- All play on PS4 / PS5. The same applies in reverse; if more of your group is on PlayStation, the cleanest path is for the PC players to grab the PS4 build.
- Move to Sons of the Forest. Both games' direct predecessor is The Forest; Sons of the Forest is currently PC-only too but is the natural follow-up. Once Endnight ships a console version (no date), the situation may improve.
- Pick a cross-platform survival game instead. Valheim (PC + Xbox + PS5 in 2026), Palworld (PC + Xbox + PS5), 7 Days to Die console versions, or Subnautica 2. All of these have current-gen cross-platform support.
The Forest Multiplayer (Within a Single Platform)
On either PC or PS4, multiplayer works like this:
- Player count: Up to 8 players in a co-op session
- Hosting: One player hosts; the rest join via the friends list (Steam friends on PC, PSN friends on PlayStation)
- Dedicated server: Available on PC. The community-built dedicated server is unofficial but well-supported by hosts
- PvP: Disabled by default; can be enabled via in-game settings on a per-session basis
- Saves: Each player's progress in a session is tracked locally and synced when joining the same world again
The 2018 PC multiplayer netcode has well-known quirks (host migration is unreliable, joining mid-session can desync inventories) but is stable enough for an evening of co-op survival.
Common Questions
"Can I save my Steam character and load it on PS4?"
No. Saves are platform-specific and Endnight has never built save migration tooling between Steam and PSN. Each platform's progress stays on that platform.
"Does the PS4 version still get patches?"
Critical patches only. Endnight has not pushed a feature update to the PS4 build in some years. Major content from PC updates was ported to PS4 selectively, not exhaustively. The PS4 version is functionally the 2019-2020-era game with bug fixes layered on top.
"What about Sons of the Forest crossplay?"
Sons of the Forest is PC-only as of 2026, so the question does not yet apply. See the Sons of the Forest crossplay article for the current status.
"Will The Forest ever come to Xbox or Switch?"
No announced plans. The longer it has been since launch (currently 8 years) the less likely it becomes; the development focus is on Sons of the Forest and a third game Endnight has hinted at.
Related The Forest Guides
Looking to host a Forest PC dedicated server with mod support and persistent world? See The Forest hosting plans. Up to 8 players, server-side mods, automatic backups, panel-managed config.