Co-op campaign has been a staple feature in Saints Row games. And Volition‘s latest entry in the open-world crime series once again lets you and your friend roam the new city of Santo Ileso at your own leisure. Here’s how to play co-op campaign missions with a friend in the Saints Row reboot.

Unfortunately, Saints Row reboot co-op is still restricted to two-player and doesn’t have crossplay, which means you cannot play the game together if you have a different console than your friend. But it does have cross-gen support between Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One or PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

How To Play Co-Op in Saints Row

Playing co-op with friends in Saints Row is as easy as booting up the Campaign Mode. You can start playing co-op from the beginning of the game by selecting the Co-Op Campaign option from the main menu, Host New Game, and invite your friend immediately.

Although keep in mind that you both will then have to make a custom character first before jumping in into the game. It will take a lot of time, especially if you (or your friend) are the perfectionist type. You can import your custom character from the Boss Factory application to cut time.

Meanwhile, if you want to play co-op from a single-player save, here’s all you need to do:

  • Start a new Campaign or load a save.
  • Press pause.
  • Select the Co-op options.
  • Pick Invite Friend.
  • Choose the name of your friend you want to invite and send them an invite to your game.

However, to unlock the drop-in, drop-out co-op option, you need to finish the second Campaign Mission, “Making Rent,” first. Afterward, you’ll be able to play around with various co-op settings, from opening your co-op session public with matchmaking or making it a private room to turning on friendly fire damage. Each player can explore Santo Ileso freely but will be teleported if one triggers a mission.

The Saints Row reboot also features a brand new “pranking” co-op mechanic. A “prank meter” will be filled up as you and your friend complete challenges together, enabling you to periodically turn your friend into an inanimate object for a period of time.

All progression, including story progress, collectibles, weapons, vehicles, and others, are tracked “on a per-player basis,” allowing you to pick up where you left off in single-player and co-op modes. Additionally, if you started a co-op mission that was much farther along than your own progress, the game will remember that you completed it, so you won’t have to play it again when you go back to single-player.

Saints Row is launching on August 23, 2022, for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC via Epic Games Store.