Two-Player Games on PS5

When you look for two-player PS5 games, that can mean three different things, and each one asks something different of your wallet. Split screen on one console needs one game and one TV, online co-op needs two consoles and usually two copies, and Share Play needs one copy but only gives you an hour. Here’s when each one applies and how to check for yourself what a particular game supports.

Three ways for two people to play, and what you need for each

Method	Consoles	Game copies	PS Plus	Main limitation
Split screen / couch co-op	1	1	Sony doesn’t mention it for playing on one console	only some games support it, and the store has no dedicated field for it
Online co-op	2	2, or 1 for games with Friend’s Pass	yes for paid games, on both sides	each player needs their own connection
Share Play	2	1 (the host’s)	host always, both for playing together	one hour, one visitor, trophies for the host only

Accurate as of 11 September 2026, based on Sony’s help pages and product pages. For split screen, one extra controller is enough; for online co-op, each player has their own. Which models make sense is covered in the overview of PS5 controllers.

Split screen on one console

This is the option most people mean when they say “two-player games”. One PS5, one purchased game, two controllers. For It Takes Two, Sony states directly that couch co-op doesn’t require an internet connection, so no subscription is tied to it either.

The catch is that split screen is hard to look up – the section below explains why. The second catch is practical: two halves of the picture mean smaller text, so some games play badly on a small TV.

Online co-op on two consoles

Each player has their own PS5, their own screen and their own connection. By default, that means two purchased copies of the game and a PS Plus membership on both sides, because Sony ties the paid membership specifically to online multiplayer. The exceptions are free-to-play titles – for games like Fortnite, Apex Legends or Call of Duty Warzone, Sony explicitly states that no membership is needed. If there’s a child on the other side, playing with strangers and messaging can be restricted through parental controls on PS5. What each subscription tier includes is broken down in the overview of PS Plus Essential, Extra and Premium.

More interesting is Friend’s Pass, a feature of some co-op games that lets you invite a second player for free. For It Takes Two, Sony says you can invite a friend for free, and adds that the host can only have one invited player at a time – another invite can be sent once the previous player stops playing. In Split Fiction, the invite also works across platforms. So one purchased copy covers two players.

Share Play: an hour of someone else’s game

Share Play lets a friend join the game you’re in the middle of over the internet, even if they don’t own it at all – and even into games that have no online multiplayer. Sony describes three modes: the visitor just watches, plays for you, or plays with you on one screen.

• A session lasts one hour and ends automatically an hour after the visitor joins.
• There can only be one visitor at a time.
• The host must have PS Plus, and for playing together on one screen, both need it.
• Only the host earns trophies. The visitor gets nothing recorded for the hour played and can’t save screenshots or video clips either.
• Sony recommends a connection of at least 2 Mbps for both upload and download.
• A visitor younger than the game’s age rating can’t join, and a game that isn’t available in their region can’t be played this way.

Don’t confuse it with Share Screen: on PS5, that only broadcasts your game to party members, who watch, ping or draw on the screen, but don’t play.

A third way to get one purchased game to two people is console sharing. It has its own rules and its own limits – they’re described in the article on game sharing on PS5 and the primary console.

How to tell what a game actually supports

The product page in the PS Store has two fields in the game information that deal with this:

• Players – how many players the game supports on one console. “1 – 2 players” means two people can play on one TV.
• Online players – how many players online and under what conditions. The wording tends to be specific, for example “Supports up to 2 online players with PS Plus”.

But there’s no dedicated field for split screen. Whether two players on one console split the picture or share one common view is something developers only write as free text in the game description – for Split Fiction, it’s the sentence “This split-screen adventure is tailored for two”. So you can’t tell for certain from the store. The process is simple: check the Players field first, then search the game description for the word “split-screen” or “co-op”.

Games with confirmed two-player support

Game	On one console	Online	Second copy needed?
It Takes Two	1-2, split screen	up to 2 players with PS Plus	no, Friend’s Pass
Split Fiction	1-2, split screen	up to 2 players with PS Plus	no, Friend’s Pass, also cross-platform
LEGO Horizon Adventures	1-2, couch co-op	up to 2 players with PS Plus, same platform only	yes
Minecraft	1-4	up to 8 players with PS Plus	yes
Diablo IV	1-2, couch co-op	up to 4 players with PS Plus	yes
EA Sports FC 26	1-4	up to 22 players with PS Plus	yes
Helldivers 2	Sony doesn’t list the field	up to 4 players with PS Plus	yes
Returnal	1	up to 2 players with PS Plus	yes

Data from Sony’s product pages as of 11 September 2026. For Diablo IV, also keep in mind that Sony lists an internet connection and a Battle.net account as required even when playing on one console. Returnal is in the table on purpose: it has one player per console and co-op only online, a typical case of a game where “for two” doesn’t mean “on one couch”. If you’re after single-player games instead, we have a selection of the best PS5 games, and if language support matters to you too, see the overview of PS5 games and their languages.

When playing together isn’t worth it

When the second player in your household plays regularly and plays something else, split screen is a dead end. Two consoles cost more, but they also settle arguments over the TV – how much each option costs is covered in the article on how much the PS5 costs and what’s included.

When the second player is five years old, don’t buy a game based on the number of players, but on whether difficulty can be set separately for each player. A pair where one player dies every minute will give up by the second evening.

When you want to save money, start with what you already have: monthly games from the subscription stay in your library for as long as your membership lasts – how it works is described in free games in PS Plus. A second controller costs less than a second game, and the rest is in the overview of PS5 accessories.

FAQ

Player counts and Friend’s Pass support can change over time, so check both fields on the specific listing before you buy. More console guides are in the PlayStation section on Gamers Together. Information checked as of 13 August 2026.

Featured image photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0.