When does co-op unlock?
You unlock the co-op feature once you reach Emma's mansion. That will happen during the ‘Call the Cavalry’ mission, around 20 to 30 minutes into the game (depending on your playstyle).
How to connect?
The games aren't hosted on servers; they use the peer-to-peer model instead. This means the first player hosts the game, and the second and third join them. Due to the game's graphic requirements, we recommend hosting on the latest generation console (PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X|S) or one of the Generation 8+ consoles (PlayStation 4 Pro/Xbox One X). It is also possible to host a game on Gen 8 consoles. See "Gen 8 co-op and hosting".
Who can join you and who can you join?
The co-op game session will not be forced on you - you can choose only to play solo. However, you can select co-op options in your settings if you'd like to play with others.
- If you're a PC gamer, you can have others join you or join other PC co-op sessions.
- If you're an Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One X user, other Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One|S|X players can join you. You can also join other Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One X co-op sessions.
- If you're a PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 Pro user, other PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4|Pro players can join you. You can also join other PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Pro co-op sessions.
- If you're an Xbox One|S user, other Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One|S|X player can join you. You can also join other Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One X co-op sessions.
- If you're a PlayStation 4 user, other PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4|Pro player can join you. You can also join other PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Pro co-op sessions.
Gen 8 co-op and hosting
To enhance the co-op hosting experience on Gen 8 consoles and bring it on par with Gen 9, we are implementing one major change. For the best experience for both the host and the joining player, we can only support one client for a Gen 8 host. In other words, only ONE player can join your game when you are running on Xbox One|S or PlayStation 4.
As previously mentioned:
- If you're an Xbox One|S user, other Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One|S|X player can join you. Additionally, you can join other Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One X co-op sessions.
- If you're a PlayStation 4 user, other PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 Pro player can join you. Furthermore, you can join other PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Pro co-op sessions.
By making these adjustments, we aim to create a smoother and more enjoyable co-op experience for all players involved.
Progress and achievements
We want players to be able to progress through the game, regardless of whether they are the host or the client. For example, if you jump into co-op and play the game up until the sixth story mission and end your session, when you come back to play – either in single player or co-op -- you will pick up from the sixth mission with all your items, stats etc. regardless of whether you were the host or client.
However, we do not want players to miss out on important story beats, levelling up, items etc. so in co-op, players cannot jump ahead of where they currently are in the story. For example, if you are at mission three and your friend is at mission six, you will not be able to join their game. They will, however, be able to lend you a hand and still return to their own progress -- unless you both play past that point together.
All gamers can unlock achievements/trophies for the missions they've completed.
Why 3 players?
In Dead Island 2 co-op players get the best experience by sticking together and slaying together. We found through extensive iteration and play-testing that capping at 3 players (reduced to 2 players while hosting on Gen 8 console) kept the combat challenging with just the right amount of zombies. Players can also experiment with the powerful combat synergies and the diverse but complementary builds that can be created with the skill deck.
If I’m playing co-op in USK, how do I play with friends in a different country?
USK and International players will be able to play co-op sessions together through friend invites and joining friends. For the duration of this session, USK and international players alike will not be able to deal damage or further dismemberment on dead zombie corpses. International players will receive a pop-up message in-game informing them about the fact that the USK-version is now activated for the duration of the session.
What about match making in USK?
As for public matchmaking, USK players will be able to play only with other USK players. International version players in turn will be matched randomly with other international players. The international version specifically means PEGI and all other internationally published version of the game.