Multiplayer, crossplay, and save modes
Checked 2026-11-05 · Lightyear Frontier 1.0
Steam lists single-player, multiplayer, co-op, online co-op, and cross-platform multiplayer. The store line is up to three friends, which is one host plus three, four people in the session. There is no shared-screen or split-screen category. A couch-co-op search is aimed at a mode the store does not claim.
Shared saves arrived with Greater Cause on 29 September 2025. You can keep up to ten shared saves. A session still caps at four people, though more than four can hold access to the same save. Only one person hosts at a time. Progress syncs through the cloud. If the last holder deletes the save, it is gone. A standard save can be hosted in solo or co-op, but only by its creator. Standard and shared saves can be copied into each other.
Crossplay in the store categories is real for the platforms that exist. Those are Steam and Xbox. There is no PlayStation or Switch build, so there is no crossplay with them. A marked developer reply on Steam in December 2023 said there were no current plans for dedicated servers. The 1.0 notes do not add one. If you cannot connect, the checks I will write are: the host is online, both sides are on the same version, and nobody else is already hosting that shared save.
Questions
Is there split screen?
No. The store categories are online co-op, not couch co-op.
How many players?
Four in a session: the host plus up to three friends. Shared saves can have more people with access than that.
Are there dedicated servers?
A developer reply said there were no current plans, and 1.0 did not announce them.
Related
- Platforms that can join
- Where shared saves came from
- Where to get the game
- Resource locations
- Buildings and machines
Sources
- Steam store listing — checked 2026-11-05
- Greater Cause update — checked 2026-11-05
- Steam discussion: dedicated servers — checked 2026-11-05
- Official 1.0 FAQ — checked 2026-11-05