Best Split-Screen Games on PS5

One PS5, one television, two people who want to play together tonight

Split-screen is the oldest form of multiplayer there is and the most reliable, because nothing about it can go wrong on the internet's side. Nobody needs an account with anyone, nobody needs a subscription, and nobody needs to be online at the same time as anyone else. One person owns the game, a second controller comes off the shelf, and you are playing in under a minute.

PS5's split-screen library is smaller than Xbox's and much larger than PC's, and it is heavily weighted towards two-player story games rather than four-player chaos. That shapes what to expect: if you are a pair, this is a great platform for it. If you are four people in one room, the honest answer is often a Switch, and we say so below rather than pretending otherwise.

What you actually need

A second DualSense. That is the whole shopping list for local play. One copy of the game covers both players in the same room - split-screen has never required two purchases, on any console, ever. If a second pad is not happening, the pass and play list covers the PS5 games a group can share on one controller instead. If it is happening, our second controller guide covers what a second DualSense costs and which machines it works on beyond the PS5.

No PlayStation Plus. Local split-screen does not touch online services, so a subscription is irrelevant to everything on this page unless you later want to take the same game online. Our free vs paid breakdown covers exactly which modes need Plus and which do not. One recent exception is worth flagging: Halo: Campaign Evolved needs a separate PlayStation account for each split-screen player, though still no Plus - our Halo: Campaign Evolved review explains that requirement in full, and new split-screen games covers the rest of the 2025 and 2026 releases.

A screen big enough to halve. The one genuine downside. Split-screen on a 24-inch monitor across the room is a squint; on a normal living-room television it is fine. If your setup is small, favor the games below with a vertical split over a horizontal one, because text stays readable.

The two-player story games are the reason to be on PS5

It Takes Two is the best split-screen game on the console and one of the best co-op games ever made. It is split-screen from the first minute to the last, every mechanic exists because there are two of you, and the Friend's Pass means a second player can join free even if they are playing from their own console elsewhere. Our review covers what the pass includes.

Split Fiction is the follow-up from the same studio, with the same two-player-only design and the same one-copy deal, plus the crossplay It Takes Two never had. If there is any chance your partner in this will be on a different platform later, buy this one first - the head-to-head settles it.

A Way Out is the earlier Hazelight game, and the purest expression of the format: the screen is split even when the two of you are playing over the internet, because the story is built around watching what the other person is doing. One playthrough only, which is a real limitation and the subject of our review.

The four-player picks, and their honest limits

Diablo IV is the standout for a pair who want something long. Two players share the screen on console - unusual for a modern live-service RPG - and the same save works online with friends on Xbox and PC afterwards, because it has full crossplay and cross-progression. It is a seasonal game, so it rewards a group that plays regularly rather than once. Full detail in the Diablo IV review.

Borderlands 3 is the four-player looter, and the better buy if you want a campaign with an ending and no seasons to keep up with. Split-screen on console is a headline feature. The catch is that it has no crossplay at all, so everyone playing online with you has to be on PlayStation - see the Diablo IV vs Borderlands 3 comparison for which of the two your group should actually own.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is the gentle option, and the one to reach for when the second player is a child or a total newcomer. Teams of two to four take on levels together, locally or online, and the tone stays friendly right up until a couple of late co-op stages that will make two adults argue. It is PlayStation and PC only with no crossplay listed, so treat online as same-platform.

Overcooked! All You Can Eat is the party pick and the only game here with full crossplay on top of local play - four people in the room, or four people on four different systems, or any mix. LEGO Star Wars and Rayman Legends are the all-ages couch options, and Human: Fall Flat is the one that costs less than lunch and scales to eight online.

When the answer is honestly a different console

If your room regularly holds four people who all want a controller, PS5 is not the best tool for the job and we would rather say so. Nintendo builds four-player local multiplayer into almost everything it publishes, and the Switch page reflects that. Xbox has the deepest split-screen back catalog of the three, including Minecraft's four-player split-screen, which the PS5 edition also supports but which Xbox players get through Game Pass - the Xbox split-screen list goes into it.

For a pair, though, PS5 wins outright, because the two best split-screen games ever made are both on it and both let the second person play without buying anything.

Taking a split-screen game online

Several picks here do something more interesting than either format alone: they let two people on one couch join an online session with friends elsewhere, so you get four players from two consoles. Borderlands 3, Diablo IV and Minecraft all support it. That specific trick has its own page - split-screen games you can also play online - because it is the single most under-used feature in group gaming and almost nobody knows which games have it.

If everyone is in a different house, start at the PS5 and PC crossplay page or the wider two-player list instead, and treat split-screen as a bonus rather than the plan.