One of the PS4‘s most underrated features is now finally available on PS5 in all its glory following a post-launch update. Share Play allows players to basically share the same game across one hour bursts, even if only one person owns it, and now it’s free on PS5.
Share Play works in many ways, whether you just want to share your screen with another player, play with them via local multiplayer, or actually take over their gameplay, and it works marvellously on the PS5. Here’s everything you need to know about Share Play on PS5, including how you can set it up and if there’s anything you need to be aware of.
SHARE PLAY PS5 SETUP GUIDE:
– What Do I Need For Share Play On PS5?
– Share Play Modes On PS5
– How To Set Up Share Play On PS5
What Do I Need For Share Play On PS5?
You need to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber to host with Share Play, though you should be able to use the Screen Share option without a membership if you just want to see what a game looks like.
In addition, you will need a strong internet connection, as the game quality will drastically drop if your speeds aren’t up to snuff.
You’ll also need to restart a Share Play session after one hour, as that’s the maximum length for a session, presumably to stop people from just using Share Play constantly and not buying games.
Share Play Modes On PS5
There are three ways to utilise Share Play on PS5:
Visitor Plays as You
Does your friend want to demo a game before they put their own money down to buy it? This is the option for you. Works best with single-player games as the connection may be too spotty for anything competitive.
Play a game with Visitor
Want to play a game in couch co-op like It Takes Two but can’t sit next to your friend? Select this option. Try to choose something PVE as, again, connection can sometimes not be perfect.
Share Screen
If your friend just wants to see what a game is like, they can watch you play your PS5 games with Share Screen. Also works for those on PS4.
How To Set Up Share Play On PS5
As with pretty much everything social on the PS5, it’s not immediately intuitive how you can Share Play on the console. To start off with, you need to start a party voice chat. Press your PS button and then select Game Base > Create Party and invite your friend who you will be Share Playing with.
Once that’s done, select your friend in the party and press Share Screen, which will allow them to see your screen. The viewer can then change their view of your gameplay to picture-in-picture or pin to side so that they can then play something else as well.
If you want to be more hands-on, though, you can then go back into your party and you should see a giant giant “button” that says Share Screen | Share Play with your friend’s avatar. Select this and then Start Share Play. Select your friend and then pick Play a game with Visitor or Visitor Plays as You. After a short delay while things connect, they will then be either playing as you or playing alongside you.
To finish the Share Play session, go back to your party and the select Stop Share Screen, which will stop all sharing and send things back to normal.
Share Play really is one of Sony’s best innovations, though it does seem like not enough people appreciate how good it is. Hopefully this PS5 Share Play guide will help more people to figure out and make the most of this brilliant tech. If not, there’s always the great multiplayer games on PlayStation 5 instead.
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