Steam Remote Play Together: Play Any Local Co-op Game Online
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Some of the best games ever made are local co-op or split-screen — but "couch co-op" assumes everyone is on the same couch. Steam Remote Play Together removes that assumption entirely. It lets you play any local multiplayer game online with friends, and here's the part most people don't realize: **only the host needs to own the game.** Your friends join for free, streamed straight from your PC.
This guide covers exactly how Remote Play Together works, how to set it up, how to fix the common issues (lag, no audio, controllers not detected), and which games are worth playing. If you're gaming with friends, pair this with our [Compare Steam Libraries tool](/compare_games) to first find the games you already share — then use Remote Play Together for the local-only titles that don't support online play natively.
What Is Steam Remote Play Together?
Steam Remote Play Together is a free feature built into the Steam client that streams a local multiplayer game from the host's PC to up to four players (more with a fast connection), so everyone can play together over the internet as if they were in the same room.
The key facts:
**Only the host needs the game.** This is the headline feature. If you own a $20 local co-op game, three friends can join and play with you without buying anything. The game runs entirely on your machine; their input and the video/audio are streamed back and forth.
**It works with games that have no online mode at all.** Remote Play Together tricks the game into thinking the remote players' controllers are plugged into the host's PC. So split-screen and same-screen games that were never designed for online play suddenly work online.
**It streams video, not the game files.** Your friends never download the game. That also means their experience quality depends on the host's upload speed and the connection between you.
Think of it as screen-sharing with synchronized controller input, purpose-built for games.
What You Need to Get Started
Before you invite anyone, make sure the basics are in place:
On the host's side:
The Steam client installed and the game you want to play (owned and installed).
A reasonably strong upload connection. Wired Ethernet is strongly preferred over Wi-Fi for the host — this is the single biggest factor in whether the session feels smooth.
Controllers for any local players sitting with you (optional).
On each friend's side:
The Steam client installed and a free Steam account. That's it — no purchase, no download of the game.
A controller if the game is controller-based (many local co-op games are).
For everyone:
You must be Steam friends with each other. If you aren't yet, add each other first. Our guide on [Steam friends and social features](/blog/steam-friends-social-features-guide) walks through friend requests and managing your friends list.
That's the entire requirement list. No port forwarding, no third-party software.
How to Start a Remote Play Together Session
Once the prerequisites are met, starting a session takes under a minute:
**Step 1: Launch the game as the host.** Start the local multiplayer game on your PC as you normally would.
**Step 2: Open the Steam overlay.** Press Shift+Tab (the default) to bring up the in-game Steam overlay.
**Step 3: Invite your friends.** Open your friends list from the overlay, find the friend you want to invite, click their name, and select "Remote Play Together." You can invite multiple friends this way.
**Step 4: Wait for them to accept.** Your friend receives an invitation notification. When they accept, Steam begins streaming the game to them and their controller input is routed back to your PC.
**Step 5: Assign controllers.** In the game (or the overlay's Remote Play settings), make sure each player is assigned to the right controller slot. Many co-op games let you pick this on a "press A to join" screen.
If a friend appears connected but can't control anything, it's almost always a controller-assignment issue — check that their input is mapped to an open player slot.
Fixing the Most Common Problems
Most Remote Play Together issues fall into a handful of buckets. Here's how to resolve them:
**Lag or stuttering.** This is a bandwidth/latency problem, and it's the host's connection that matters most. Fixes, in order of impact: put the host on wired Ethernet; lower the streaming quality in Steam → Settings → Remote Play; close bandwidth-heavy apps (downloads, other streams); and have the host play at a lower in-game resolution.
**Black screen for the guest.** Usually a Steam overlay or GPU driver issue. Have both players update their GPU drivers, confirm the overlay is enabled (Steam → Settings → In Game → "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game"), and restart the game.
**No audio for the guest.** In the host's Remote Play settings, ensure audio streaming is enabled. Some games route audio in ways that need the host to select the correct output device before launching.
**Controller not detected.** The guest's controller must be recognized by their own Steam client before joining. Have them open Steam → Settings → Controller and confirm the controller shows up there first. Xbox and PlayStation controllers generally "just work"; some third-party pads need Steam Input enabled.
**"Remote Play Together" option is greyed out.** The game may not be tagged as supporting local multiplayer, or you're not friends yet. Confirm the friendship and that the game genuinely has a local co-op/multiplayer mode.
Best Games for Remote Play Together
Because only the host needs to own the game, Remote Play Together is fantastic value. Some of the most popular and reliable picks:
Party and chaos games: Overcooked and Overcooked 2, Moving Out, Ultimate Chicken Horse, and Gang Beasts are built for laughing at each other and run beautifully over the stream.
Co-op adventures: It Takes Two and A Way Out are designed around two players and are ideal Remote Play candidates (It Takes Two even has its own "Friend's Pass," but Remote Play works too).
Fighting and sports: Local fighting games and titles like Rocket League's split-screen modes work well for 1v1 or 2v2 sessions.
Strategy and puzzle: Slower-paced co-op puzzle games are the most forgiving of any minor latency, making them a safe first test of your setup.
A good workflow: use our [Compare Steam Libraries tool](/compare_games) to see which multiplayer games your group already owns for native online play, then fall back to Remote Play Together for the local-only gems only one of you owns. Between the two, you'll rarely be short of something to play together.
Remote Play Together vs. Buying Extra Copies
A fair question: if a game supports native online multiplayer, should you still use Remote Play Together? Usually not — native online play gives each player their own local performance and their own copy of the game, which is a better experience when it's available.
Remote Play Together shines specifically for:
- **Local-only / split-screen games** with no online mode. This is its core use case. - **Trying a game before everyone commits** to buying their own copy. - **One-off game nights** where buying four copies of a party game isn't worth it.
If your group plays the same online-capable game constantly, individual copies are the better long-term call. For everything local or occasional, Remote Play Together is unbeatable value.
Conclusion
Steam Remote Play Together is one of the most underused features on the platform. It turns any local co-op or split-screen game into an online experience, and because only the host needs to own the game, it's an incredibly cheap way to game with friends who live far apart.
Get the host on a wired connection, make sure everyone's a Steam friend, and start with a slower-paced co-op game to dial in your settings. Once it's smooth, your whole library of local multiplayer games opens up to your friends.
Before your next game night, run your group's libraries through the [Compare Steam Libraries tool](/compare_games) to find the games you already share — then use Remote Play Together for the rest.