local multiplayer

/ˈloʊkəl ˈmʌltiˌpleɪər/

Common

Any game mode where multiple players play on the same device in the same physical location.

Broadly positive in gaming culture. Often used when advocating for a feature that many modern games have dropped in favor of online-only modes.

Real-world examples4 examples

#	Example	What it means	Source
01	give me your best local multiplayer games for 4 people	Asking for game recommendations specifically for four players in the same room.	reddit, 2024
02	local multiplayer is a dying art and i'm tired of pretending it's fine	Frustrated that fewer games are being made with same-room multiplayer support.	x, 2024
03	switch is genuinely unbeatable for local multiplayer. nothing else comes close	Praising the Nintendo Switch specifically for its same-room multiplayer library and features.	reddit, 2023
04	no local multiplayer? hard pass	Refusing to buy or play a game because it lacks same-room multiplayer support.	x, 2023

Use it when

Players are cooperating online from different locations.Use “online co-op” instead.
You specifically mean a cooperative shared-goal experience.Use “couch co-op” instead.

Local multiplayer requires players to be physically in the same place.

Online-only requires an internet connection and players can be anywhere in the world.

Standard gaming vocabulary that emerged to distinguish same-device play from the rise of online multiplayer in the early 2000s.

Use this stable URL to reference the entry.

https://slang.fyi/local-multiplayer

Updated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0