Share Play on PlayStation®4 and how it works

Share Play on PlayStation®4 and how it works

Learn about Share Play and how to use it.

Step by step guide to Share Play on PS4

What is Share Play?

You can use Share Play to play with a friend as if you were in the same room. It allows you to invite a visitor to view your screen for up to 60 minutes a session. If you are stuck in a game or want the visitor to try a game, Share Play allows you to hand over your controller to a visitor so they can play instead. You can also invite your visitor to play a local multiplayer session over the Internet even if the game does not support online multiplayer. The visitor does not need to own the game to use Share Play.

  Share Screen Hand over my controller Hand over another controller
Host Anyone PS Plus PS Plus
Visitor Anyone Anyone PS Plus

How do you start Share Play?

To start Share Play:

  1. Press the SHARE button on your DUALSHOCK®4  wireless controller.
  2. Select Start Share Play from the Share menu and invite a friend on the next screen. 

The visitor will receive an invitation and have the option to join the session. Once they accept, their PlayStation 4 system will connect with yours via the Internet and the Share Play session will automatically start.

Once the connection has been established, a 60 minute timer will start counting down, after which you need to restart your session.

Each Share Play session is limited to 60 minutes, but you can restart your session with the same friend from the same point in your game as soon as the 60-minute timer has run down—and you can do this as many times as you like. The visitor can now watch the Host's gameplay.

To get the best experience from Share Play, both you and your friend will need a high-speed Internet connection. The conditions surrounding the home network of each player may also impact Internet connectivity. As a guide a minimum connection speed of at least 2 Mbps is recommended. To check your upload speed, please check with your network service provider.

  1. Press the SHARE button > "Go to Party for Share Play"
  2. Select the "Give Controller to Visitor" option.
  3. On the next Screen you can choose to "Allow the Visitor to Play as You". This hands over the controller and the visitor can now play the game while you watch. 
  4. You can take back control at any time by pressing the SHARE button, accessing the Share Play menu and selecting "Take Back Controller".
  1. Access the Share menu by pressing the SHARE button and selecting "Go to  Party for Share Play".
  2. Choose "Give Controller to Visitor" and select "Play a Game Together".
  3. Now an additional controller has been added to the game.

You can play a game together or against each other. Depending on the title, you might need to choose the controls in the games menu just as if you were playing next to each other with two controllers.

What are Share Play's Limitations?

  • The host and visitor have to be friends on PlayStation™Network.
  • The host and visitor have to be online.
  • The number of players who can use Share Play is two.
  • The maximum length of one Share Play session is 60 minutes. When the session ends, you can restart Share Play immediately.
  • Only the host earns trophies.
  • Game saves will be saved only on the host's PS4.
  • If the game which you want to share is not available in the PlayStation™Store of your visitor's country.
  • If the parental-control level of the game that you want to share doesn't match the visitor's parental control settings.
  • If the visitor's age is lower than the game's age rating on the PlayStation Store.
  • German account holders can only use Share Play with other German account holders.
  • The visitor is required to enter a German ID number before joining a host's Share Play session if the game is 16+.
 

Share Play on PS4 Pro

If you'd like to use 1080p (30fps) for Share Play, your broadband will need to be at least 15 Mbps whether broadcasting or receiving.

Broadcasting

You can use your PS4 Pro to broadcast Share Play in up to 1080p (30fps) depending on bandwidth availability. This is limited to 720p on standard PS4 systems.

Receiving

You can receive Share Play broadcasts on a PS4 Pro or standard PS4 system in up to 1080p (30fps) depending on bandwidth availability.

Need help? 

Contact our support specialists

Contact PlayStation Support