SEVERANCE multiplayer supports up to five players in online investigations. To invite friends, open the Multiplayer app on the lobby laptop, create a session and use Steam Invites. You can also browse open lobbies to join another group.
You can either hunt a computer-controlled ghost together in Ghost AI, or make one friend the ghost in Player Ghost. Hosting and invitations are handled through the laptop, and the full release improved how open matches appear in the browser.
SEVERANCE multiplayer: how to host a lobby
The game now starts directly in a single-player lobby. Open the laptop’s Multiplayer app to host or join, then use the Contract app to select the location, game mode and difficulty.
- Open SEVERANCE on Steam and use the lobby laptop.
- Choose Multiplayer and create your lobby.
- Invite friends through Steam Invites, or use an open lobby if you want other players to find it.
- Choose your location, Ghost AI or Player Ghost mode and difficulty in the Contract app.
- Prepare the team’s equipment, confirm everyone is ready and begin the contract.
Hosts can kick or ban disruptive players. The SEVERANCE multiplayer lobby also provides volume sliders for each player, useful when one person’s microphone is much louder than everyone else’s.
How to join friends in SEVERANCE
If a friend is hosting, accept their Steam invitation. For a public match, open the laptop’s Multiplayer app and browse available lobbies. Each open listing identifies the location, game mode and difficulty so you can choose a session that suits you.
As of Version 1.0, open lobbies stay listed while a match is in progress. You may see a group that’s already investigating, rather than a lobby where everyone is waiting to start.
SEVERANCE multiplayer player count and modes
Sykes Games advertises one to five players. Ghost AI mode lets a team investigate a computer-controlled ghost, while Player Ghost puts one person in the monster’s role. The ghost player can interact with objects, frighten investigators and trigger hunts.
You can also play Ghost AI entirely offline on your own. Solo mode was added before the 1.0 release, so practising investigations doesn’t require a multiplayer session.
Ghost AI or Player Ghost: which should friends choose?
Choose Ghost AI when all of you want to investigate. It’s also the mode required by the Steam achievements for correctly identifying ghosts, finishing maps and clearing official difficulty settings.
Choose Player Ghost if one of your friends wants to control the haunting instead. The player ghost has its own actions and in-game How To Play guidance. Custom difficulty settings support both Ghost AI and Player Ghost contracts.
Save your preferred loadout or use Auto Fill Team Equipment to make preparing between rounds quicker. Open the tablet during a contract for investigation information and evidence.
SEVERANCE multiplayer voice chat and connection fixes
The SEVERANCE multiplayer voice chat system has individual player-volume sliders. If someone is silent, check your push-to-talk binding and their volume in the Esc menu. The developer fixed an older push-to-talk issue inside Settings and the lobby laptop, followed by a fix for repeating audio after death in the October 28 hotfix.
If an invite fails, make sure both players are running the latest Steam version. Have the host reopen Multiplayer on the laptop, send a new Steam invitation and check the match’s listed mode and difficulty.
SEVERANCE multiplayer is currently available through the Windows PC Steam release. Steam friends can join through its invite system; there’s no console platform to select in the current release.
Does everyone share levels and rewards?
Version 1.0 reset old player levels, money and equipment for the new progression system, not because players joined a group. Each investigator has their own career progress and can review match results through the lobby laptop. Check your own results after each contract.
Once the group is ready, choose the contract and start investigating. The SEVERANCE multiplayer setup supports regular Ghost AI co-op and the more competitive Player Ghost mode. See our 1.0 patch guide for the changes that came with full release.
Related Guides
Official source: Sykes Games’ official multiplayer and lobby update notes.
