How to Gameshare on the PS5

Use PlayStation's Share Play with other PS5 and PS4 owners

Updated on April 14, 2021

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What to Know

From the Home screen, press the controller's PS button. To create a party, select Game Base > Square > select friend > follow prompts.
You can play with (or for) a friend for up to an hour at a time. Share Play lets PS5 users play with friends on PS4 consoles.
Use the Request to Join option to get into a game with friends quickly on both PS5 and PS4 consoles.

This article explains how to use the PlayStation 5's Share Play feature to try your friends' games, help them with tricky levels, and play couch co-op titles over the internet. Share Play even allows for cross-generational gaming, so users with a PS5 can play with friends using PS4 consoles.

How to Use Share Play on the PlayStation 5

To get started with Share Play, you'll first set up a Party with one or more of your friends. Your friends can have a PS5 or a PS4 console.

From the Home screen, press the PS button on your PS5 controller.

Do not hold the button.

Sony
Select Game Base from the menu at the bottom of the screen.
Press Square to create a party.
Select the person on your friends' list that you want to join your party.

Your party can contain up to 99 other people and can include PS4 as well as PS5 users.
Press right on your controller to select OK ones you've selected your friend(s).
Select Voice Chat.
Select Join.
In the Voice Chat window, select Start Share Screen.
A new set of options will appear: Share Screen | Share Play. Navigate to it and press X.
Choose Start Share Play.
Select the name of the friend you want to Share Play with.
Choose which version of Share Play you want to use:
- Visitor Plays as You: Use this option to let your friend play the game instead of you. It's for when your friend wants to try a game they don't own or you need help with a difficult section.
- Play With the Visitor: Select this option to let your friend play the game with you. Use it to play a co-op title like Overcooked, which did not originally support online multiplayer.
Your visitor will receive an invitation to Share Play which they will need to accept.
You'll return to the main Voice Chat screen, where a countdown will appear next to the Share Play icon. You can Share Play for an hour at a time, after which the PS5 will automatically end the session.

While the PS5 limits each Share Play block to an hour, you can start a new session as often as you want.
If you chose Visitor Plays as You, your friend will have full control of the game with some limitations:
- They will not earn Trophies during the session.
- They can't take screenshots.
- If you exit to a menu while your visitor is playing, the PS5 will pause the session for them until you return to the game.
- Visitors can't view your Home screen or other menus when you share your screen.
If you chose Play With the Visitor, the game will behave like you and your friend are playing in the same room. The same restrictions as above will apply.
To end Share Play, press the PS button on your controller and select Game Base again.

You can also select your Party chat in the tiles above these icons or Share Play from the Home menu.
Select your current party at the top of the menu.

The active party will have a headphone icon next to it.
Select View Voice Chat.
Choose the Share Screen | Share Play menu option.
Choose Stop Share Play.
Your visitor will lose control of the game, but they'll still be able to see what you're doing until you end Screen Share.

There's even more opportunity for PS4-PS5 cross-generational gaming. With an April 2021 update, PS5 and PS4 users will see a list of their friends' joinable game sessions. Use the Request to Join option to get into a game with friends quickly.

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