How to Play Split-Screen on Fortnite

Two players, on PlayStation and Xbox only, and player two needs their own Epic account

Fortnite split-screen - Epic calls it Local Multiplayer - works for two players on PlayStation and Xbox. It is not available on Nintendo Switch, on PC, or on mobile. Per Epic's own Fortnite support articles it covers Battle Royale, Zero Build and the LEGO Fortnite modes, and it is unavailable in Creative, Limited Time Modes, Save the World, Ranked and Solos - the last of those for the obvious reason that Solos is one player by definition. Checked October 11, 2026.

If you are on a Switch or a PC and this is what you came for, the answer is that the feature does not exist there and no setting will produce it. The picks below are what to buy instead: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for four-player split-screen that includes Switch, Rayman Legends for the cheapest four-player local game on every platform, and Overcooked! All You Can Eat for the one with crossplay.

The requirement that stops most people: player two's account

Epic's support pages are unambiguous about this and it is the single most common reason a split-screen attempt fails. The second player must sign in with their own Epic account. Guest accounts and Quick Play accounts are not supported. So if the plan is "my friend hops on the second controller", they need a real Epic account first, created in advance, on the console in front of you. It is free and it takes a couple of minutes, but it is not something to discover at the start of the evening.

Epic also lists three more conditions worth knowing before you start: both players need the same language settings, inventory is not shared between the two players, and the session ends if either player leaves the match. And tournaments do not allow split-screen at all, so a competitive player cannot use it.

The setup, in order

One. Create the second Epic account first, if it does not exist. Not a guest profile - an Epic account.

Two. Pair and switch on the second controller before you do anything in the game.

Three. From the Fortnite lobby, press the prompt on the second controller and sign that player into their Epic account.

Four. Pick Duos or Squads - a mode that has room for two local players. Solos cannot work and Ranked is excluded.

Five. If the second slot refuses to appear, the cause is almost always the account type or the platform rather than anything you have configured wrongly.

Why Fortnite is the odd one out on this site

Fortnite is free, crossplays across every platform it runs on, and takes a squad of four - so it looks like it should be the perfect answer for a group. For online play it very nearly is, and it leads our free crossplay listfor that reason. For a group in one room it is a worse fit than almost anything we recommend, because the local feature is two players on two of its five platforms, with an account requirement and a list of excluded modes. That gap between "plays with everyone" and "plays with the person beside you" is the whole reason this page exists.

What to play instead, by the limit you hit

"We are on a Switch." Fortnite split-screen is not available there. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds does up to four local split-screen and is on Switch; Rayman Legends does four local on Switch as well, for less money. Our split-screen on Switch list is the full version.

"We are on one PC." Also unavailable. Read split-screen on PC, which is honest about how short that list is and covers the Remote Play Together route for games without the feature.

"There are four of us and one console." Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for racing, Overcooked for cooperation, Borderlands 3 if it has to be a shooter. All three split four ways on console.

"We want a shooter on one screen." Borderlands 3 is the pick - four players split-screen on console, and no subscription needed for local play. Black Ops 7 also does split-screen, for two players on PS5 and Series X|S only and with a connection and subscription required; the details are at Black Ops 7 split-screen.

"We want to keep it free." Then the honest answer is that free and local-multiplayer rarely overlap. Among Us is free and supports local play, and the broader free lists are at free games to play with friends and free crossplay. Everything genuinely built for four people on one sofa is a paid purchase, usually a cheap one.

Does Fortnite split-screen need PlayStation Plus?

Fortnite is free-to-play, and free-to-play titles do not require the paid online tier on either PlayStation or Xbox - which makes Fortnite one of the cheapest ways for two people on one console to play online together. The general rules for subscriptions and local play are at do you need PS Plus to play split-screen.

What this page does not claim

Fortnite changes constantly, and Epic's own support articles have carried different mode lists at different times - the older ones scope split-screen to Battle Royale Duos and Squads, the current one adds Zero Build and the LEGO Fortnite modes. We have reported the current list with a check date rather than pretending it is permanent, and we have not listed individual playlists, because those rotate weekly. If a mode you expect is missing in-game, treat Epic's support site as the authority over this page.