Dying Light 2 multiplayer: How to co-op and is it crossplay?

(Image credit: Techland)

If you're finding the infected of Villador too much to handle, then Dying Light 2 multiplayer may be the solution. You can get up to all kinds of mischief in co-op. However, how does it all work, how many people can it handle and does it have cross-play?

Dying Light 2 is primarily built as a solo experience. Even more so this time, as it’s entirely centered around a narrative that has players making big decisions that affect the world of parkour and zombies.

However, you and a friend can run around the world. You can both complete tasks while having fun shredding both the rooftops and the shambling Virals below.

Is Dying Light 2 crossplay?

Dying Light 2 leg kicking bandit off roof — (Image credit: Techland)

Let’s get this out of the way - Dying Light 2 doesn't support crossplay between different console families. If you play on PS5, you won’t be able to play with your PC or Xbox friends.

However, it’s even more restrictive than that. At launch, the game isn’t even cross-generational. This means if you are on PS5, you won’t even be able to play with your friends on PS4.

However, that should be changing in the near future. In an interview with Wccftech, Lead Game Designer Tymon Smektala said:

“So, no, this will not be implemented at the start but we are looking very closely at it and we hopefully will be able to activate/introduce it later during the life of the game.”

How to play Dying Light 2 co-op and how many players?

Dying Light 2 combat with man geting hit with pole — (Image credit: Techland)

If you do have friends with the game on your console of choice, Dying Light 2 is entirely co-op. What’s more, you can play with up to three of your friends, running around the rooftops of Villador as a little Parkour gang. How delightful.

The process to do this is not that complicated, however, there is no multiplayer option on the start screen, so don’t worry if you are a little lost.

In order to play with friends, you need to jump into your current game world. Once you have loaded in, press the pause button and scroll down to the ‘Online Menu’. Once in here, you can invite friends by pressing ‘Add Friend’ in the slots next to your character.

Can you play with strangers?

Melee combat in Dying Light 2 — (Image credit: Techland)

You can! There are options in the online menu to help you find other players if you have no one to invite. You can set your game to Public, Private or Friends Only (or revert your world back to ‘Single Player’.)

On top of this, you can set how frequently you find other players by selecting how often you want to see the ‘Call For Help Search and Rescue. These will populate your world with other players looking for help. You can choose between ‘From Time to Time’, ‘Regularly’ or ‘Never’.

You can Call for Help yourself too. This is easy. If you would like the game to actively find someone to enter your world, go to the Online Menu and simply press down on the d-pad. This game will then try to find someone to help you out, be that if you are running from the undead or if you have a tough challenge ahead.

Do you keep your gear in Dying Light 2 multiplayer?

Simply put - yes. This means that you can run around with a friend and loot powerful gear, then bring it back to your world. You can get your hands on some late-game items if you work together to try and overcome tough challenges.

On the other side of the coin - be careful out there. Your inventory is not saved when you enter a multiplayer instance. Much like dying in your own world and reloading at a checkpoint doesn't bring back your gear, the same is true in another player's world.

As the saying goes, ‘if you die in the game, you die in real life’. Except in this instance, ‘the game’ is a multiplayer session, 'dying' is losing your items and real life is 'your world'. This metaphor doesn't really work. The point is - it’s permanent.

Use your weapons and healing items as carefully as you would in your own world.

Want to check out our thoughts? Here's TechRadar's Dying Light 2 review!

Patrick Dane is TechRadar Gaming's Guides Editor. With nearly a decade in the games press, he's been a consistent voice in the industry. He's written for a plethora of major publications and travelled the world doing it. He also has a deep passion for games as a service and their potential to tell evolving stories. To wit, he has over 2000 hours in Destiny 2, over 1000 in Overwatch and is now deeply into Valorant.