You can now play Stray in splitscreen multiplayer

Three cats from Stray peeking over a ledge, side by side
(Image credit: Nexus Mods / Uploaded by JPTHEHERO)

A new splitscreen multiplayer mod for recently released adventure game Stray lets you buddy up with a feline friend.

After working out how to swap Stray's silent protagonist for their own pets, modders have found yet another way of adding even more cats to the game. Modder KangieDanie has released a splitscreen mod for the hit platformer, letting you and your buddies play simultaneously as your own tabbies. 

Being a mod, it only works on PC. But we encourage you to shake things up with the tons of Stray mods available. If you're playing Stray on PS5 or PS4, you unfortunately won’t be able to play with a cat chum. But on the plus side, console gamers can play Stray for free, so that's something. 

The mod only supports local co-op for now, but KangieDanie says they know another modder is looking into creating an online co-op mod down the line.   

Room for more

Three cats from Stray from behind all of different colours

(Image credit: Nexus Mods / norskpl)

You can play using the same keyboard, or can plug in another controller to waltz down the city streets side by side. Just how many co-op players can be added using the mod isn't clear, however, and even KangieDanie isn't sure, as they ran out of controllers to test with. Current screenshots show up to three players in the game together.

The mod is still in early development, and KangieDanie has highlighted a fair few bugs you can expect to run into. At the moment, only Player 1 can see the game’s HUD, it may crash during level transitions, and you might see a handful of visual glitches while playing. All standard teething problems for a new mod.

Playing in co-op actually looks fairly easy, though. Once the mod’s installed, head to the main menu and tap F9 on your keyboard to add a secondary player. It’s currently unclear whether you’re able to remove players after adding them, though, so don’t get carried away.

To install the mod, you’ll need to download its main file and accompanying splitscreen config, as well as the Unreal Engine Mod Loader. Follow these instructions as listed in the mod’s description to get it all up and running:

  • Download the main mod and splitscreen config files from the Nexus Mods page
  • Drag the SplitScreenRequiredConfig_P.pak file into the ‘Paks’ folder in Stray’s file directory
  • Create a new folder called ‘LogicMods’ in the existing ‘Paks’ folder
  • Drag the SplitScreenMod.pak file into that new folder
  • Download the latest UnrealModLoader and extract the zipped file anywhere on your PC
  • Launch UnrealModLoader.exe
  • Launch Stray
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Callum Bains
Gaming News Writer

Callum is TechRadar Gaming’s News Writer. You’ll find him whipping up stories about all the latest happenings in the gaming world, as well as penning the odd feature and review. Before coming to TechRadar, he wrote freelance for various sites, including Clash, The Telegraph, and Gamesindustry.biz, and worked as a Staff Writer at Wargamer. Strategy games and RPGs are his bread and butter, but he’ll eat anything that spins a captivating narrative. He also loves tabletop games, and will happily chew your ear off about TTRPGs and board games.