Does Diablo 4 support local couch co-op?
Diablo 4 supports local co-op play for two people on the console versions of the game. This means that couch co-op is available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4 players. The Windows PC version, however, does not have support for local co-op play.
It’s there, but only for Xbox and PlayStation
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One of the best things about Blizzard’s previous Diablo game, Diablo 3, was that it had full support for four-player local multiplayer. It proved to be so popular that the developers prioritized bringing the feature back 11 years later in Diablo 4, making it easy for friends and family to play together in the same room. However, there are some notable limitations you should be aware of.
Firstly, local couch co-op is exclusively available on the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game that you can play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4. Unfortunately, if you’re a Windows PC user hoping to play Diablo 4 multiplayer co-op with friends locally, you’re out of luck.
Also, Diablo 4 only allows two people to play couch co-op together, so you won’t be able to have a local party of four like you could in Diablo 3. This will definitely disappoint some, though the upside is that local co-op should be cleaner and more readable than it was before. Additionally, each player now has independent menus and can visit different merchants at the same time, which probably wouldn’t be possible with four-player co-op. It’s also important to mention that you can still party up with two other players online if you’d like to.
To play Diablo 4 couch co-op, turn on a second controller while in-game and the game will prompt player two to sign in with an Xbox or PlayStation account and either link it to an existing Battle.net account or create a new one (if the accounts are already linked, this step will be skipped). Then, player two simply has to pick a class and create a character, or choose one of their existing characters if they’ve played before. After doing this, they’ll appear next to player one and co-op begins.
Note that while player two doesn’t need to own Diablo 4 on their account to play couch co-op, they won’t be able to play on their own console without a copy of the game. Also, be aware that progress made in couch co-op is saved and carries over to other platforms thanks to Diablo 4 cross-progression, including the PC version of the game.
Will Diablo 4 local co-op ever come to PC?
While local co-op isn’t supported in the PC version of Diablo 4 currently, many players are hopeful that Blizzard will one day make the feature available. However, it’s unlikely that this will ever happen for a few reasons.
For one, Diablo General Manager Rod Fergusson has explained in an interview that getting couch co-op working on PC would be a significant technical challenge, and that it may not even be possible at all. Because of this, trying to bring local multiplayer to PC wasn’t prioritized.
“It’s a technology question. Trying to do shared-screen co-op on PC is much more challenging when it comes to account management and how you play together … console is pre-set up for that in terms of the ways you can associate the accounts to it.” Fergusson said. “I don’t know if it’s a game-solvable issue. It might be a platform-solvable issue but I didn’t know that it’s a game-solvable issue, like [with] support from other aspects like Battle.net. I think there’s more tech that has to happen.”
Secondly, your average PC gaming setup isn’t conducive to a couch co-op experience at all. The vast majority of gaming monitors are much smaller than TVs, and most desks don’t have enough space for two chairs, computers, and PC gaming accessories like mice and keyboards.
Ultimately, if you want to play local co-op, get Diablo 4 on console. That way you’ll be able to use the feature with a friend right out of the gate, and if you still want to play the game on PC, you won’t have to worry about progress loss thanks to cross-progression.
Diablo 4 is slated to fully launch on June 6, 2023 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4, with June 1 Early Access coming to fans that preorder the Digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition. It has the potential to be one of the best Xbox games for fans of dungeon crawlers and hack-and-slash combat, and we can’t wait to jump in when it arrives.