Saints Row (2022) is the long-awaited reboot of the crime-laden sandbox series. While players can absolutely enjoy wreaking havoc in Santo Ileso solo, the experience can be far more entertaining with a friend. Following the debut entry in 2006, the franchise quickly and hilariously embraced multiplayer with co-op and has become a staple of Volition’s physics playground with subsequent releases.
From setting up co-op to pranking your partner, if you’re looking to embrace the unique destruction of Saints Row with a pal, here’s everything you need to know about multiplayer in the latest entry.
How to set up co-op in Saints Row (2022)
Saints Row (2022) supports 2-player co-op. You and another player are free to tackle critical story missions, side hustles, or explore the Las Vegas-inspired streets of Santo Ileso. Unfortunately, this isn't a feature that's unlocked immediately, and there are a few steps you'll need to complete to enable online multiplayer.
- Before beginning co-op, both players must have completed the MAKING RENT tutorial questline.
- Once MAKING RENT is finished and both players are no longer in any active mission, the host player can open their world for multiplayer.
- From the main menu, select Co-op Campaign.
- Choose Host Game.
- Select the save you wish to use.
- Once you've loaded into the game, open the options menu and choose Co-op.
- Select Invite Friend and choose your requested co-op partner.
- Have your invitee accept your request within the game.
- Ensure you aren't in the menus when your multiplayer ally attempts to enter the game, or they will be stuck on a "waiting for host" message.
- Enjoy your co-op shenanigans.
Currently, Saints Row (2022) is brimming with unfortunate bugs. In our experience, this has made getting into a game with a friend far more challenging than it needs to be. If you find these steps aren't working, reboot the game and re-accept the EULA from the main menu. After several tries, we were able to repeatedly establish multiplayer connections. It’s also worth noting that Saints Row doesn’t support crossplay, so you’ll need to be on the same platform as your co-op partner.
How to prank your partner in Saints Row (2022)
A goofy feature exclusive to online co-op in Saints Row (2022) is pranks. Completing specific challenges allows you to enable an array of wacky, gameplay-altering hijinks. While you have the option to disable pranks, we highly recommend leaving them implemented during your multiplayer sessions in Saints Row.
- Before hosting a co-op game, ensure both players have Pranks activated.
- To do this, open the options menu and select Co-op.
- From here, choose Co-op Settings.
- Hover over Pranks and enable the slider.
- Once in a multiplayer session, a prank challenge will appear in the upper-righthand corner of the screen.
- Complete the designated challenge.
- After the challenge has been finished, pressing left on the D-pad will trigger a prank on your partner.
We're still uncovering the scope of pranks in Saints Row. Still, we've already witnessed outrageous scenarios where our allies were transformed into floating toilets with assault rifles. If you're aiming to elevate the sandbox nonsense of this crime caper, pranks appear to be an excellent means of doing so.
How does progression work in Saints Row multiplayer?
A bulk of Saints Row (2022) is engineered around building your very own criminal empire. With the freedom to pick how and where your seedy enterprise expands, it's understandable that not all progress is shared between co-op partners. However, a vast majority of the challenges and collectibles you complete when playing with a friend carry over to your own game.
Mainline story mission completion is tied to the host's game, but the resolution of side activities like Insurance Fraud are shared. You can also earn money, and experience, and unlock new skills while playing in co-op. And for players worried about losing their custom rides in multiplayer, fear not. Guests have access to their entire garage from the host's game. Saints Row might not be one of the best games on Xbox, but overall progression in co-op is commendable.
