Crash Bandicoot 4 Co-op: Up to 4 Players, but You Take Turns

Four people can play, but only one plays at a time. Crash Bandicoot 4 co-op is a pass-the-controller mode called Pass N. Play, so decide first whether your group wants turns or a shared screen.

As of Oct 25, 2026: Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox pages re-read that day; Steam fields from our Oct 18 store data. The Crash Bandicoot 4 game page shows the latest check.

Key Takeaways

• Four seats, one turn. Players hand the controller on.
• Pass N. Play is the mode. TechRadar calls it the main one.
• No online play. Everything is local.
• Stores disagree. Nintendo and PlayStation list four; Xbox and Steam list none.
• E10+. The Xbox store rates it Everyone 10+.

Crash Bandicoot 4 co-op? (quick answer)

Yes, if turns count as co-op. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time seats up to four on one console, and each player takes a turn at the level. Nintendo's store lists Single system (1-4) with the tag "Play together on one console". The PlayStation Store lists 1 - 4 players and offline play.

Chart: CouchCoopDesk, Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox pages checked Oct 25; Steam store data Oct 18.

The other two stores say nothing. The Xbox store page shows no local co-op, online co-op or Shared/split screen field. Our Steam data lists one category: Single-player.

Overview

Activision publishes it. It reached Xbox on 10/2/2020, per the Xbox store, and Switch on March 11, 2021, per Nintendo.

Desk note: Our database holds 137 games that seat two or more on a console store and also have a Steam listing. Crash Bandicoot 4 is the only one whose Steam categories list no local, online or Remote Play option at all. For a PC household, the console listings are the ones that mention four players.

Chart: CouchCoopDesk, data from our store database, checked Oct 25.

GODEEPER: What Steam's Remote Play Together label means, and why it matters for PC couch play. Steam Remote Play Together explained

How Pass N. Play works

Players take turns on the same levels. TechRadar puts it plainly: "Instead, the main mode that the game offers is Pass N.Play. In this mode, up to four local players take turns making their way through levels." The hand-off comes when a player dies or reaches a checkpoint, when the game prompts the pass.

GODEEPER: Picks for groups with very different skill levels, store by store. Co-op games for different skill levels

NME reported the same mode before launch: "It will let up to four players journey through the game's campaign mode." It added that the multiplayer modes "will support between two to four players, but will not permit online play for the time being."

Chart: CouchCoopDesk, from TechRadar and NME, checked Oct 25.

Online is simply absent. TechRadar is blunt: "Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time does not have online multiplayer. All of its multiplayer functionality is purely locally based."

Tips for a turn-taking night

• Set expectations first. Nobody plays at the same moment.
• Mix skill levels. Each player runs the level alone.
• Keep groups small. With four, each player waits three turns.
• Want a shared screen? Our split screen vs shared screen explainer covers what to look for.

What players say

The co-op label surprises people. In September 2023, a player in r/crashbandicoot wrote: "The game description says co-op option available but I can’t figure out how to do that. There’s only “Pass N Play” option which is not exactly co-op…"

Our take

Pick Crash Bandicoot 4 for a family that likes taking turns; skip it for side-by-side co-op. Nintendo and PlayStation list four seats, and TechRadar confirms those players take turns. There is no online mode.

Pairs who want to play at the same moment should start with our 2-player games for couples list. We will re-check the Xbox fields if Microsoft adds player counts.

What we don't know yet

Why the Xbox store lists no player fields while its PlayStation and Nintendo pages list four. We also could not read Activision's own multiplayer help page.

How we checked this

We re-read the Nintendo Switch listing, the PlayStation Store page and the Xbox store page and catalog entry on Oct 25, along with TechRadar's multiplayer explainer and NME's launch report. Steam fields come from our importer's Oct 18 read. The Reddit post was read through the Arctic Shift archive. We did not play Crash Bandicoot 4 for this article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Crash Bandicoot 4 co-op? Only by taking turns. TechRadar explains that the main multiplayer mode is Pass N. Play, where up to four local players take turns making their way through levels. Nintendo lists Single system (1-4) and the PlayStation Store lists 1 - 4 players, but nobody plays at the same moment.

Can 2 players play Crash Bandicoot 4 at the same time? Not in the campaign. TechRadar says Pass N. Play players take turns and the game prompts a hand-off at a death or checkpoint. NME says the multiplayer modes support two to four players. If you want both players on screen together, a simultaneous co-op platformer is the better pick.

Does Crash Bandicoot 4 have online multiplayer? No. TechRadar states that the game does not have online multiplayer and that all of its multiplayer is local. Nintendo's listing shows no Online line, and the PlayStation Store page shows no online player count. Everyone has to be in the same room.

How many players is Crash Bandicoot 4? Up to four on one console. Nintendo lists Single system (1-4) for Switch, and the PlayStation Store lists 1 - 4 players for PS4 and PS5. The Xbox store lists no player fields for it, and our Steam data shows only the Single-player category.

Is Crash Bandicoot 4 good for kids? The Xbox store rates it Everyone 10+. Turn-based play suits families with different skill levels, because nobody slows a partner down. Expect waiting: with four players, each person watches three turns for every one they play.

How much is Crash Bandicoot 4? $59.99 regular price on the PlayStation Store and from $59.99 on the Xbox store, checked Oct 25. Our Switch and Steam data from Oct 18 shows $39.99. The PlayStation Store showed a sale that day; we quote the regular price only.

Related Reading

• Co-op games to play with kids: family picks with each store's rating.
• Best couch co-op games by platform: the hub for every platform list.
• Cult of the Lamb couch co-op: two players at once, local only.
• 4-player local games list: every four-seat game in our database.

References

1. Nintendo, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time-switch/
2. PlayStation Store, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10000264
3. Xbox, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time/9PMXPQ307Z5P
4. TechRadar, Crash Bandicoot 4 multiplayer: is it online and co-op?: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/crash-bandicoot-4-multiplayer-is-it-online-and-co-op
5. NME, two new Crash Bandicoot 4 multiplayer modes revealed: https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/two-new-crash-bandicoot-4-multiplayer-modes-have-been-revealed-2761270