Share Play for the PlayStation 4 - Everything We Know So Far

Yesterday during their press conference at Gamescom 2014, Sony announced the next big update for the PlayStation 4 in Firmware 2.0. One of the biggest features to be included in the new firmware is Share Play. Touted as a ‘virtual couch’, Share Play will take the social features already ingrained into the PlayStation 4 to the next logical step. Up until this point it has only been possible to share your gaming experience via streaming, clips and screenshots, but now with Share Play it will now be possible to invite a friend to join you in playing a game cooperatively even if they do not own it.

Scott McCarthy, director of product planning and software innovation for SCEA, took to the PlayStation Blog yesterday and shared the following about this exciting new feature:

The best way to think about Share Play is like a “virtual couch”. PlayStation 4 will create an online local co-op experience by allowing you to invite a friend to join your game—even when they don’t own a copy of it. With this first-of-its-kind feature, you’ll be able to play games with a friend just as if you were together in the same room. Let’s say that with games… you’ll be able to invite your friend online to play against the Miami Heat for the championship as the San Antonio Spurs in NBA2K, tackle the challenging Towerfall Ascension Quest Mode together, or aide, heal, and protect you as Igniculus in Child of Light’s local co-op mode.

As of right now it seems that this feature will only be available for games that feature cooperative modes, but it is conceivable that they will include games with competitive multiplayer as well.

The other revealed feature of Share Play is the ability to allow a friend to take control of your game remotely. This feature will mirror the game on both of your screens and is designed to allow you to receive help from a friend to beat a challenging part of a game. This feature was shown in early trailers when the PlayStation 4 was announced and it is exciting to see Sony paying off on its promises.

Currently Firmware 2.0 is slated to release sometime this fall and it is inevitable that more details will be released over the next few weeks and months. Keep checking back for any updates to this new feature!