How to Play PS5 Games With Friends Using Share Play

In the old days of gaming, your friends could come over to your house, grab a second controller, and jump right in with you. Nowadays, this is even easier thanks to the internet—your friend fires up their console, starts up the game, and joins you in a co-op multiplayer session online. But unlike the pre-internet age, that usually requires your friend to own the game in question.

Sony has a solution to this on PlayStation 5 called Share Play. With it, you can let a friend watch you play, take over your character to help you through a tough section, or play a multiplayer match with you. This can all take place from the comfort of their own home (even if they don’t own the game), making it a good solution in a pandemic.

Share Play Requirements

All you need is an internet connection to share your screen. Sony recommends at least 5Mbps upload speed for best results, though it says 2Mbps will do in a pinch. If you can hook your PS5 up via Ethernet, all the better.

However, in order for you to pass the controller, you will need a PlayStation Plus(Opens in a new window) account. If you want to play multiplayer together, you will both need a PlayStation Plus account, as is typical for multiplayer on PlayStation consoles. Both people will also need to be friends on PSN, so add them as a friend if you haven’t already.

Know the Limitations

There are also a few limitations to the Share Play experience. First, all Share Play sessions end after one hour, though you can always start a new session to keep playing. In addition, not all games support this feature.

Your friend also can’t take screenshots while they play as you or use Remote Play on another device. You must keep the game open on your PS5 because if you exit the game, their session will be paused.

Share Play streams footage directly from the game owner’s console, similar to Remote Play. As a result, it won’t look nearly as good as if the game were running natively on a local PS5, so you might experience lag or hitches if your internet isn’t stable.

How to Use Share Play

To start a Share Play session, press the PS button on your DualSense controller and select Game Base from the quick menu that pops up. Press the Square button to create a party, and check the box next to the friend you want to join you. Select Voice Chat > Join, and from the window that appears, select Start Share Screen. Your friend will get a notification card in their quick menu that they can select to see your screen.

From there, you can select the Share Screen | Share Play button and choose Start Share Play. Select your friend, and you’ll be given the option to let them take over your character (Visitor Play as You) or to play a multiplayer game (Play With the Visitor). They should receive an invitation on their end, and they can accept it to start playing. You will see a countdown on the Voice Chat screen, which will end the session after 60 minutes.

A session can be ended manually at any time by going back to Game Base > [Your Party] > View Voice Chat > Share Screen | Share Play > Stop Share Play. They should still be able to see your screen until you end the screen share.

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