Some of the best games ever made were designed for two people on one sofa. Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Double Dragon — the whole point was sitting next to a mate, sharing a screen, and arguing about who got the health pickup. The trouble is that the mate now lives in another town, and most of those games never had online play to begin with.
That’s the problem Steam’s Remote Play Together solves. It lets you take a game that only supports local multiplayer and play it online with friends, as if they were sitting in the room with you. It’s free, it’s built into Steam, and most people who own a Steam account have never used it.
What Remote Play Together Actually Does
The idea is simple. You — the host — run the game on your PC as normal. Steam streams the picture and sound to your friends over the internet, and sends their controller inputs back to your PC. As far as the game is concerned, everyone is sat on the same sofa plugged into the same machine.
That has two big advantages:
- Only the host needs to own the game. Your friends don’t need to buy it or even install it.
- It works with games that have no online mode at all. If a game supports local co-op or split-screen and is marked as compatible, it can be played online this way.
Valve’s original announcement put it at the host plus up to three friends — four players in total — with more possible on a fast connection. In practice, the limit is usually how many players the game itself supports.
What You Need
- A compatible game. Not every local multiplayer game supports it. Check the game’s Steam store page — “Remote Play Together” appears in the list of features on the right-hand side if it’s supported.
- A decent upload speed on the host’s connection. The host is streaming video to everyone else, so their upload matters far more than anyone’s download. A wired Ethernet connection on the host PC makes a noticeable difference.
- Something for your friends to play on. Friends with Steam can join from the Steam app on their PC, laptop or Steam Deck. Friends without Steam can join using the free Steam Link app on Windows, Android, iOS or Raspberry Pi.
- Controllers (ideally). Each player can use their own controller on their own device. If a friend doesn’t have one, the host can share keyboard and mouse control with them instead.
How to Set It Up
Inviting a friend who has Steam
- Launch the game on your PC as normal.
- Open the Steam overlay with Shift + Tab.
- Open your Friends list, right-click the friend you want to play with, and choose Remote Play Together.
- Your friend accepts the invite, and the game appears on their screen. Their controller should work straight away as an extra local player.
Inviting a friend who doesn’t have Steam
- Launch the game and open the Steam overlay (Shift + Tab).
- In the Remote Play Together panel, choose the option to create an invite link and send it to your friend however you like — text, email, Discord.
- Your friend opens the link, installs the free Steam Link app if they don’t have it, and joins your game.
Valve originally limited this to one non-Steam guest at a time, but an update in 2021 removed that cap. You’re now limited only by how many players the game supports and how much your connection can handle.
Getting the Best Experience
- Plug the host PC in with a cable. Wi-Fi works, but a wired connection on the host is the single biggest improvement you can make.
- Close anything else using your upload. Cloud backups, game downloads and video calls on the host’s network will all eat into the stream.
- Drop the resolution if it stutters. If friends see lag or blocky video, lowering the game’s resolution reduces how much the host has to stream. Retro games are well suited to this — they never needed 4K anyway.
- Sort out voice chat. Steam’s own voice chat works fine, though plenty of groups prefer Discord — our guide to setting up Discord for gaming covers the basics.
- Expect a little delay for guests. The host plays with no added lag; everyone else is watching a stream, so there’s always a small delay. It’s barely noticeable in a co-op brawler, but it’s why Remote Play Together suits beat-’em-ups and party games better than competitive fighting games.
Why It’s Perfect for Retro Co-op
Remote Play Together could have been designed for the side-scrolling beat-’em-up. These are games where two players fight through the same screen together, and where a few milliseconds of delay don’t matter much. Many of the retro collections and modern revivals on Steam support local co-op, and plenty support Remote Play Together too — collections of Mega Drive classics, and modern revivals like Streets of Rage 4, are popular choices. Check each store page’s feature list before you buy, as support varies from game to game.
If you want the history behind the genre first, our Looking Back retrospectives cover the games that defined it: Double Dragon, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. And for the year it all came together, see 1989: The Year the Beat-‘Em-Up Grew Up.
FAQs
Do my friends need to own the game?
No. Only the host needs to own and install the game. Everyone else is just receiving a stream.
Does Remote Play Together cost anything?
No. It’s a free feature of Steam, and the Steam Link app your friends may need is free too.
How many people can play?
Valve’s guidance is the host plus up to three friends, with more possible on a fast connection. The game’s own player limit applies too — a two-player game will still only allow two players.
Can friends join without a Steam account?
Yes. The host can send an invite link, and the friend joins through the free Steam Link app on Windows, Android, iOS or Raspberry Pi.
Why is it laggy for my friends?
Almost always because of the host’s upload speed or Wi-Fi. Use a wired connection on the host PC, close anything else using the internet, and lower the game’s resolution if needed.
Does it work on Steam Deck?
Yes. A Steam Deck can both host a Remote Play Together session and join one as a guest.
Want to play local co-op games online with the friends you’re chatting to? See our guide to Steam Remote Play Together.
