Multiplayer video game

Local multiplayer

For some games, "multiplayer" implies that players are playing on the same gaming system or network. This applies to all arcade games, but also to a number of console, and personal computer games too. Local multiplayer games played on a singular system sometimes use split screen, so each player has an individual view of the action (important in first-person shooters and in racing video games) Nearly all multiplayer modes on beat 'em up games have a single-system option, but racing games have started to abandon split-screen in favor of a multiple-system, multiplayer mode. Turn-based games such as chess also lend themselves to single system single screen and even to a single controller.

Multiple types of games allow players to use local multiplayer. The term "local co-op" or "couch co-op" refers to local multiplayer games played in a cooperative manner on the same system; these may use split-screen or some other display method. Another option is hot-seat games. Hot-seat games are typically turn-based games with only one controller or input set – such as a single keyboard/mouse on the system. Players rotate using the input device to perform their turn such that each is taking a turn on the "hot-seat".

Not all local multiplayer games are played on the same console or personal computer. Some local multiplayer games are played over a LAN. This involves multiple devices using one local network to play together. Networked multiplayer games on LAN eliminate common problems faced when playing online such as lag and anonymity. Games played on a LAN network are the focus of LAN parties. While local co-op and LAN parties still take place, there has been a decrease in both due to an increasing number of players and games utilizing online multiplayer gaming.

Online multiplayer

Online multiplayer games connect players over a wide area network (a common example being the Internet). Unlike local multiplayer, players playing online multiplayer are not restricted to the same local network. This allows players to interact with others from a much greater distance.

Playing multiplayer online offers the benefits of distance, but it also comes with its own unique challenges. Gamers refer to latency using the term "ping", after a utility which measures round-trip network communication delays (by the use of ICMP packets). A player on a DSL connection with a 50-ms ping can react faster than a modem user with a 350-ms average latency. Other problems include packet loss and choke, which can prevent a player from "registering" their actions with a server. In first-person shooters, this problem appears when bullets hit the enemy without damage. The player's connection is not the only factor; some servers are slower than others.

A server that is geographically closer to the player's connection will often provide a lower ping. Data packets travel faster to a location that is closer to them. How far the device is from an internet connection (router) can also affect latency.

Hotseat

Hotseat or hot seat, also known as pass-and-play, is a multiplayer mode provided by some turn-based video games, which allows two or more players to play on the same device by taking turns playing the game. The term was first used as a reference to playing a PC game and trading seats with the other player, but the mode dates back to early 1980s arcade games. A notable example of games that use this mode is the Heroes of Might and Magic series, which allows up to 8 players to play locally on the same computer.

Hotseat multiplayer has also seen prominence on some console video games, especially certain multiplayer games that are intended to be family-friendly, within the party genre, or both. For example, the Wii games Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort have certain sports, such as golf, that require its competitors to take turns. Players share a Wii Remote, the system's controller, which the current player has possession of during a turn.

Hotseat play allows players to play a multiplayer game with only one copy of the game on only one device. Since hotseat play is usually defined as turn-based by nature, the duration of a game may extend beyond that of a comparable real-time networked multiplayer game where each player can take action at the same time. Some games allow hotseat and networked players to compete with each other in the same game, while maintaining turn-based play. In those cases, hotseat enables N players to play on fewer than N physical computers.

Asymmetrical gameplay

Asymmetrical multiplayer is a type of gameplay in which players can have significantly different roles or abilities from each other – enough to provide a significantly different experience of the game. In games with light asymmetry, the players share some of the same basic mechanics (such as movement and death), yet have different roles in the game; this is a common feature of the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre such as League of Legends and Dota 2, and in hero shooters such as Overwatch and Apex Legends. A first-person shooter that adopts the asymmetrical multiplayer system is Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Giving players their own special operator changes every player's experience. This puts an emphasis on players improvising their own game plan given the abilities their character has. In games with stronger elements of asymmetry, one player/team may have one gameplay experience (or be in softly asymmetric roles) while the other player or team play in a drastically different way, with different mechanics, a different type of objective, or both. Examples of games with strong asymmetry include Dead by Daylight, Evolve, and Left 4 Dead.

Invasion Mode

Some games feature an "Invasion mode", which lets real players enter another player's single-player or multiplayer session to help, harass, or replace NPCs. The mechanic traces a clear lineage from early experiments to FromSoftware's Souls series and into modern titles such as Deathloop, Sniper Elite 5, and Elden Ring. It carries persistent design trade-offs involving balance, matchmaking, and griefing, while adding tension, unpredictability, and emergent social interaction to single-player content. Deathloop featured opt-in asymmetric PvP, while Elden Ring evolved the Souls invasion system at a larger scale.

Depending on the game, its objectives, and its story, the invading player's goals, roles, and objectives will differ. In hostile invasions, the invader's goal is to kill or disrupt the host, as in the classic Souls formula. In possession or control invasions, the invader can take control of NPCs or civilians, as Mindjack experimented with. In a co-op version, the invader can cooperate with the host to accomplish objectives as a unit, as seen in some open-world titles.

Notable milestones with this mode with concise timelines include:

• Demon’s Souls (2009) / Dark Souls (2011): popularized hostile, asynchronous invasions that reward risk and create high‑stakes PvP inside PvE.
• Journey (2012): introduced anonymous, non‑hostile drop‑in multiplayer—important contrast to invasions.
• Watch Dogs (2014) / Metal Gear Solid V (2015): experimented with invasions in open‑world/action contexts.

Asynchronous multiplayer

Asynchronous multiplayer is a form of multiplayer gameplay where players are not necessarily playing at the same time. This form of multiplayer game has its origins in play-by-mail games, where players would send their moves through postal mail to a game master, who then would compile and send out results for the next turn. Play-by-mail games transitioned to electronic form as play-by-email games. Similar games were developed for bulletin board systems, such as Trade Wars, where the turn structure may not be as rigorous and allow players to take actions at any time in a persistence space alongside all other players, a concept known as sporadic play.

These types of asynchronous multiplayer games waned with the widespread availability of the Internet which allowed players to play against each other simultaneously, but remains an option in many strategy-related games, such as the Civilization series. Coordination of turns are subsequently managed by one computer or a centralized server. Further, many mobile games are based on sporadic play and use social interactions with other players, lacking direct player versus player game modes but allowing players to influence other players' games, coordinated through central game servers, another facet of asynchronous play.

Online cheating

Online cheating (in gaming) usually refers to modifying the game experience to give one player an advantage over others, such as using an "aimbot" – a program which automatically locks the player's crosshairs onto a target – in shooting games. This is also known as "hacking" or "glitching" ("glitching" refers to using a glitch, or a mistake in the code of a game, whereas "hacking" is manipulating the code of a game). Cheating in video games is often done via a third-party program that modifies the game's code at runtime to give one or more players an advantage. In other situations, it is frequently done by changing the game's files to change the game's mechanics.