How local co-op works and how to play with friends in local co-op multiplayer in Monster Hunter Rise

Local multiplayer is possible in Monster Hunter Rise. With it, you can connect and play with your friend without using a Nintendo Online Subscription. A local multiplayer connection means you can play with other players who also have a Nintendo Switch, so long as they’re near you. You’ll want to be in the same room to have the best possible connection with each other, and during these intense hunts, we highly recommend being in the same room.

You want to make sure you speak with this Courier, Senri the Mailman, to create a local multiplayer lobby.

How local co-op works

The local multiplayer portion of Monster Hunter Rise means you and your friend must have a Nintendo Switch with your individual copies of the game. You cannot share the same Switch, and you cannot share the same game. There is no split-screen mode in Monster Hunter Rise, so don’t expect to have a player two in your game.

How to play with friends in local co-op multiplayer

The process is similar to starting an online multiplayer session. Instead of picking to play online, you want to choose the ‘play locally’ option. From there, one of you will need to create a lobby to host the game. Once someone has created the lobby, they can wait for the other players to connect by going to the ‘play locally’ tab and picking the ‘find lobby’ choice. The person who created a lobby can pick to have it protected by a passcode or not.

There is no lobby ID or lobby settings as it is a custom network, so you won’t have to worry about that. Only the lobbies that are made for online sessions function that way.

Once all players have connected, you can begin the session to start playing Monster Hunter Rise together.