You're sitting on the couch. Your friend is right there. You want to drop into Mega City or whatever the current hot spot is, but you don't want to play on separate TVs in separate rooms like some kind of digital hermits. Honestly, the couch co-op vibe is dying in modern gaming, but Epic Games actually kept the flame alive. It’s a bit clunky to set up the first time, but how to play 2 player on Fortnite PS5 is actually one of the most underrated features of the console.
It’s called Split Screen mode.
Most people think Fortnite is strictly an online-only, one-person-per-console affair because that's how almost every other Battle Royale works. Apex Legends doesn't have it. Warzone? Forget about it. But Fortnite is different. If you’ve got two controllers and a decent internet connection, you can literally slice your TV in half and hunt for Crowns together.
The Gear You Actually Need (Don’t Skip This)
Before you even try to log in, you need to make sure your hardware is ready. You need two DualSense controllers. Obviously. But here is the part that trips everyone up: the second player must have their own PlayStation Network account.
You can't just play as a "Guest" like you did on the PS2 back in 2004. Sony and Epic need to track stats, skins, and V-Bucks for both people. If your friend doesn't have an account, just take two minutes to make a burner PSN profile. They don't need PlayStation Plus—since Fortnite is free-to-play, the "Plus" requirement is waived—but they do need a unique login.
Also, your internet matters. Your PS5 is essentially rendering the game twice and sending twice the data. If you're on a shaky Wi-Fi connection, expect some serious lag spikes the moment a build fight starts. Plug in an Ethernet cable if you can. It saves lives.
How to Play 2 Player on Fortnite PS5 Without Losing Your Mind
Alright, let’s get into the actual steps. First, boot up Fortnite using your main account. Get all the way to the Lobby screen where your character is standing there looking cool.
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Once you are in the lobby, turn on the second controller.
The PS5 will ask "Who is using this controller?" Select the second player’s PSN profile. Now, look at the bottom of your screen. You’ll see a little prompt that says [Triangle] Log In (Hold). This is where most people mess up—they just tap the button. You have to mash it down and hold it until the little circle fills up.
Once that’s done, the screen will flicker for a second. Suddenly, a second character will pop into the lobby standing right next to you. It feels like magic every time. You’re now linked. The primary player (the one who started the game) has control over the menus, the shop, and selecting the game mode. The second player is basically just along for the ride until the match starts.
The Massive Limitations You Need To Know
It isn't all sunshine and chug splashes. Split screen is heavy. Because the PS5 is working overtime, the frame rate usually drops from a buttery smooth 60 or 120 FPS down to a locked 30 FPS. It feels "heavy" at first. You'll notice it.
Also, you can only play Duos or Squads.
You cannot play Solos (obviously), and most Creative maps or LTMs (Limited Time Modes) simply don't support split screen. If you try to select a weird "Only Up" parkour map or a specialized 1v1 arena, the game will usually give you an error or kick the second player out. Stick to the core Battle Royale or Zero Build modes. That is where the feature is designed to live.
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Another thing: the screen orientation. It’s a horizontal split. You get the top, they get the bottom. To keep the aspect ratio from looking like a funhouse mirror, Epic puts black bars on the sides of the screen where the player avatars and health bars live. It makes your actual game window smaller than you’d expect. If you’re playing on a 32-inch TV, you’re going to be squinting. This feature was built for the 55-inch and 65-inch behemoths.
Why Your Sound is Going to Be Weird
This is a nuance most "guides" won't tell you. Spatial audio in Fortnite is everything. You need to hear if someone is crouching on the floor above you. In split screen, the audio is a literal nightmare because the game mixes the sounds for both players into one output.
If Player 1 is getting shot at from the left, but Player 2 is looking the opposite way, the directional cues get completely warped.
The fix? Honestly, there isn't a perfect one. But I highly recommend that both players turn on Visualize Sound Effects in the settings. This puts little icons on the screen showing where footsteps and gunfire are coming from. It’s a game-changer for split screen because it replaces the confusing 3D audio with clear visual data. It’s basically cheating, but legal.
Pro-Tips for Dominating the Lobby
When you're playing 2 player on the same console, you have one massive advantage: communication. You don't have to deal with mic lag or your friend's shitty headset static. You can literally yell "He’s on me!" and point at their half of the screen.
Use this.
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Stick together. In split screen, if you get separated, it’s much harder to track each other's status because your peripheral vision is cut in half. I always tell people to play "shoulder to shoulder." If one person enters a house, the other stays by the door.
Also, keep an eye on the "Host" status. The person who started the session is the only one who can talk to NPCs or look at the Quest log easily. If the second player wants to check their specific milestones, you usually have to back out to the lobby or have the first player navigate the map screen carefully.
Common Glitches and How to Kick Them
Sometimes the second player won't be able to "ready up." It’s a classic Fortnite bug. If the little checkmark doesn't appear above their head, don't restart the whole game. Just have the second player hold the Triangle button to log out, then immediately hold it to log back in.
If the screen goes black during the loading bar? That's usually a handshake issue between the PS5 and the Epic servers. Usually, waiting it out for 60 seconds fixes it, but if you're stuck in the "Connecting" loop, you’ll have to close the app and start over. It’s the price we pay for local multiplayer in 2026.
Making the Most of the PS5 Power
The reason you're doing this on a PS5 and not a PS4 is the SSD. On the older consoles, loading into a split-screen match took so long that the bus would sometimes already be halfway across the map by the time Player 2 actually saw the world.
On the PS5, the load times are nearly identical to single-player. You get into the spawn island with plenty of time to dance on people. Use that extra time to coordinate your landing. Since you can both see each other's screens, you can perfectly time your glides to land on the exact same chest. It's a level of synchronization you just can't get over a Discord call.
Step-by-Step Execution for Success
To get this running right now, follow this specific sequence:
- Launch Fortnite on your primary PSN account.
- Navigate to the Battle Royale Lobby (don't stay in the game mode selection menu).
- Power on the second DualSense.
- Select a second PSN account (it cannot be a guest).
- Hold Triangle on the second controller until the login animation finishes.
- Wait for the character to appear in the lobby.
- Select Duos or Squads (Standard or Zero Build).
- Both players press Triangle to "Ready Up."
- Enable "Visualize Sound Effects" in the audio settings to fix the directional audio confusion.
Go to your PlayStation 5 settings and ensure your "Display" settings are set to 4K if your TV supports it. Running split screen at 1080p on a large screen makes the UI text almost impossible to read. If you find the text too small, you can actually go into the Fortnite "HUD Scale" settings and bump it up to 110% or 120%. This makes your health bar and ammo count much easier to see when the screen is halved. Also, make sure both controllers are updated to the latest firmware to avoid any weird input lag during the login phase. Once you're in, stay close to your teammate—splitting up on split screen is a recipe for a quick trip back to the lobby.