Dead Island 2 Multiplayer: How to Unlock Co

If you would rather crash someone else’s campaign (and help them), you have to do so from the Main Menu. Select Join Game, and Dead Island 2 should give you the option to team up with a friend or random player. Friends are located under “Friends Online,” and if you want to try your luck with a stranger, select Quick Join instead.

Like with the original Dead Island, you can only team up with two other players at a time. After all, the point of a zombie apocalypse is to have the brain munchers vastly outnumber the living survivors, not the other way around.

Many games these days have cross-platform functionality, i.e., crossplay. Titles such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Apex Legends are prime examples of this trend to connect players across the globe, regardless of platform. Sadly, Dead Island 2 is not one of them.

As of writing, Dead Island 2 does not include cross-platform multiplayer. PS5 owners cannot team up with Xbox Series X or PC players, and vice versa. However, the game supports cross-gen co-op, so PS5 players can invite PS4 players, and the same holds true with Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One owners. Don’t celebrate just yet, though, since the ability to host a game is locked behind stronger hardware. If you own a PS4, Xbox One, or Xbox One S, you can only join someone else’s session. According to a recent blog, this limitation is a result of Dead Island 2’s graphics requirements, but the developers are working on a solution.

In many quest-centric co-op games, progression is a fickle mistress. Players who join a friend to help them complete a mission usually don’t receive any credit, meaning their story progression and inventories are rolled back once they go back to solo play or hosting. Thankfully, Dead Island 2 isn’t one of those games, but it still carries its own warning label.

Quest progress and loot are saved for all co-op participants. If, for instance, you join a friend and help them complete an optional scavenger hunt mission, not only will that job be marked as complete on your solo campaign’s quest log, but you will get to keep the reward.