Steam Remote Play Together: play local co-op online
Invite a friend into a supported local multiplayer game using Steam or Steam Link. Set up the link, check controllers and troubleshoot streaming problems.
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Your friend is free for a game, but the co-op title you own expects everyone to sit at the same PC. Steam Remote Play Together lets you play supported local multiplayer games over the internet. The host runs the game; the other players join remotely without buying their own copies.
Valve's 22 March 2021 Steam client update added Invite Anyone, so a guest can join through an invitation link without a Steam account. They still need an app: desktop Steam or Steam Link. This guide covers that link-based route on computers, with a few checks that help when the invitation works but the controls do not.
One running game, several players
The host runs the game. Steam sends its picture and sound to the guest, and sends the guest's controls back to the host. Valve describes the guest's controller as behaving as though it were plugged into the host computer in its original Remote Play Together announcement .
The guest controls the host's running game; no second game installation is needed.
The guest is joining that running session, so the host needs to keep the game open. The game's local multiplayer rules still apply: a two-player mode does not gain extra slots because more people receive a link. Choose a game with a local mode you want to play together; Remote Play Together does not add co-op to a single-player game.
Check the game and controls first
Start in your Steam Library. Open the advanced filtering options and select Remote Play Together under Features. Valve documented this filter in its Invite Anyone announcement , which was updated on 22 March to confirm the feature had shipped to all Steam users. You do not need to opt into the beta for these April 2021 instructions.
Pick a game from the filtered results, then check its local multiplayer mode and supported controls. A controller can save a lot of setup confusion, but the right arrangement depends on the game.
| Before you start | Host | Guest |
|---|---|---|
| App | Steam, signed in | Desktop Steam or Steam Link; the invitation-link route does not require a Steam account |
| Controls | A supported keyboard/mouse or controller arrangement | A compatible controller, or keyboard/mouse access granted by the host |
For a first attempt, connect one guest and confirm the controls before inviting the rest of the group. It makes a failed input much easier to identify.
Two keyboards do not automatically mean two players
Sharing keyboard access gives a guest access to the host's keyboard input. Whether that can control a separate player depends on the game.
For a concrete example, the publisher of Tools Up! says its game accepts one keyboard plus multiple controllers . Two friends each sitting at a computer therefore cannot assume that both keyboards will work as independent player controls. Check the game's arrangement before spending time changing network settings.
Send an invitation link
- Launch the supported game from Steam. Leave it running while you invite your friend.
- Open the Steam Overlay and your Friends list. On a Windows PC, the default shortcut is Shift + Tab, as the Tools Up! publisher's setup guide explains. If you changed that shortcut, use your configured one.
- Use COPY LINK in the Friends list to copy the Remote Play Together invitation, then send it directly to your friend.
- Have the guest open the link. Valve's March instructions describe the prompt to install and run Steam Link if the guest does not already have it or desktop Steam. Complete that app handoff; the link is not a browser-only version of the game.
- Enter the game's local multiplayer mode and join a player slot. Follow that game's normal local join prompt. Test movement or a menu selection with each person's controls before starting a level.
If your friend already uses Steam, you can also right-click their name in your Friends list and choose Remote Play Together, then have them accept. That established route is documented alongside Invite Anyone in Valve's announcement .
Arrange your voice call separately if you want to talk while playing. Valve's March release notes say a friend invitation no longer starts voice chat automatically. A silent call does not by itself mean the game stream has failed.
If the session does not work, check the symptom
There is no invitation option
First confirm that the title appears in the Library's Remote Play Together filter. Let Steam finish any pending updates, restart it and launch the supported game again.
If a different supported game exposes the invitation option, that is a useful clue to investigate the original game's support or configuration. Reinstalling the guest's game cannot help here: the guest is not supposed to have a game installation.
The guest sees the game but cannot control a player
Work through the input path. Check that the guest's controller is connected, look at the Remote Play Together connection dialog to see which input is present, then return focus to the game. Use the game's own prompt to join a local player.
For a keyboard or mouse, the host must grant access in the overlay: Valve made both disabled by default in the March client update . Give the guest the input access they need for this game. A working controller may be enough without sharing the keyboard as well.
If both people end up controlling the same character, revisit the game's local control scheme. A successful connection and a separate playable character are different checks.
The picture stutters or actions arrive late
Compare what the host sees with what the guest sees. If the game is already struggling on the host's own screen, start by lowering the game's graphics load. That is a useful first test because the stream depends on the host producing the game in the first place.
If the host's view is smooth but the guest's is poor, focus next on streaming and the connection. Try a wired network connection where practical, pause large downloads or uploads on both connections, and retest the same short section of gameplay.
Then try a lower game or capture resolution, or favour speed over image quality in Steam's Remote Play settings. The Tools Up! publisher's troubleshooting guidance recommends wired networking and describes these resolution and quality controls.
Change one thing at a time so you can tell whether it helped.
Try one short round before the full session
A useful first test is modest: one host, one guest and a local mode you already understand. Check that each person can control the intended character, that the guest hears the game, and that a few minutes of play feel responsive enough for that title.
If those checks pass, invite more people within the game's local player limit. If they fail, keep the setup small while you diagnose it. A working invitation link is only the start; the test that matters is whether everyone can actually play.
