VR Multiplayer on MetaQuest: The complete guide to playing online, locally, and sharing your games

Virtual reality is often perceived as an isolated bubble, a solitary experience where you disconnect from the world. Yet, it's in a group setting that it reveals its full potential and true magic. Whether you want to challenge friends on the other side of the world or transform your own living room into a futuristic shared playground, the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets now offer immense and varied possibilities.

However, between creating Meta accounts, managing invitations in some areas, and configuring the hardware, it's easy to get lost. This comprehensive guide explains step-by-step how to set up multiplayer VR, how to save significantly on your games through account sharing, and which are the best team experiences to try right now.

VR Online Multiplayer

The most classic and widespread method for playing virtual reality is to join friends online from their homes, each with their own headset . Fortunately, Meta has significantly unified and simplified this system through updates, making it intuitive and closer to what we know from home consoles.

The Group System

Before even launching a game, the best way to stay connected with your team is to create a voice chat party. It's a step many beginners forget, but it's essential: it allows you to chat smoothly and continuously, even if you're in different menus, loading a game, or if one of you crashes. It's the "common thread" of your gaming session.

How to do it:

• Press the Meta button (the logo on your right controller) to open the universal menu.
• Select the People icon in the menu bar.
• Scroll through your friends list, find the person you want to play with and click "Invite to group".
• Once the invitation is accepted, you will be connected via VoIP (Voice over IP). You can now chat freely while each of you browses your respective applications to choose your game.

Join a game

Once the audio group is formed, you no longer need to manually search for your teammate's server or type in complicated room codes. Meta has introduced a seamless feature called "Travel Together".

It works simply: The group leader (the person who sent the invitation) launches an application or selects a specific destination. Immediately, a system notification is sent to all group members in the audio chat. By acknowledging this notification, they are invited to launch the same application and are automatically placed in the same game instance or multiplayer lobby. It's the fastest way to seamlessly synchronize everyone.

Playing in the same room: Local & Mixed Reality mode

&

This is the major revolution of recent years, particularly optimized for the Meta Quest 3 thanks to its color cameras and depth sensors. Thanks to the advanced "Shared Spatial Anchors" technology, two (or more) headsets can now understand that they are in the same physical room at the same time.

What is Shared Accommodation?

Unlike classic online gaming where each player evolves in their own version of the environment, co-location allows for perfect synchronization of the virtual environment with the real world.

In practical terms, this allows multiple users to see the same virtual object (like a chessboard, a puzzle, or an enemy) in the exact same spot on the table or floor of your real living room. If you point to a virtual monster in the corner of the room, your friend will see it in the exact same place. Furthermore, your friends' avatars perfectly align with their real-world positions: when you talk to your VR partner, you're actually looking in their physical direction.

Prepare your playing area

Playing with multiple people in a confined physical space requires increased vigilance to avoid accidents.

• Expand your space: You need to define a much larger playing area (Guardian) than for a solo session. Don't forget arm span: with two people waving controllers, the risks of bumping into each other or hitting a wall are real.
• Crucial tip: For this type of experience, it's essential to choose Mixed Reality (Passthrough) games. These games display your real-world surroundings as a background. This allows you to see your friend's exact location at all times and avoid collisions. Playing together in a fully immersive VR environment (where you're completely blind to the real world) is strongly discouraged for safety reasons.

The step-by-step technical configuration

For the magic to happen and the headsets to synchronize, you must meet specific technical requirements:

• Network: Ensure all headsets are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Communication for local synchronization goes through your router.
• Privacy and Mapping: This is the often-overlooked step that prevents the system from working. On each headset, you need to go to Settings & Privacy & Device Data.
• Activation: You must enable the "Share Point Cloud" option. Without this permission, headsets cannot share their understanding of the walls and floor. Therefore, they will not be able to "understand" that they are in the same room as the other player.

Setup and Budget: How to Avoid Paying for Games Double

Buying multiple headsets is already an investment, and having to repurchase each game twice can quickly become very expensive. Fortunately, Meta offers a very advantageous official solution .

Application Sharing

The principle: This feature allows you to buy a game only once on a "main" account and play it on two headsets simultaneously, without violating the terms of use.

The method (Admin vs Secondary): For this to work, you must configure your headsets asymmetrically:

• Headset 1 (Guest Headset): Connect the Primary (Admin) Account that purchases games on this headset. Go to settings and enable the "App Sharing" option. Then, add a secondary account (the guest's account) to the same headset. The guest will play with their own profile but will have access to the Admin's library.
• Headset 2 (The Admin's headset): The owner of the main account simply logs into this second headset and plays with their own account.

The secondary account (on Headset 1) and the Admin account (on Headset 2) can launch the same game at the same time and play together.

Limits and configuration for 3 or more players

It is important to note the limitations of this system. Application sharing only works on two devices (1 Admin Headset + 1 Guest Headset benefiting from the sharing).

If you wish to play with three or more people (for example, with three headsets), sharing will no longer be sufficient. The third player will need to purchase a new copy of the game (a new license) on a separate account.

Compatibility

A common question concerns compatibility between different generations of hardware. Rest assured: the Meta ecosystem is very open.

• Between generations: A player on Quest 2 can play without any problem with a player on Quest 3. The graphics may be sharper on the Quest 3, but the game remains the same.
• Expanded Cross-Play: Some games even allow total "Cross-Play", meaning you can play with friends who own PC VR headsets (HTC Vive, Valve Index) or even PlayStation VR headsets, significantly expanding the number of potential players.

The best multiplayer VR gaming experiences

To get you started, here is a selection of must-have titles, classified by type of experience.

Top VR multiplayer games for local mode

These games require you to be in the same room.

• Demeo : A tactical role-playing game (like Dungeons & Dragons) where the game board appears virtually on your real coffee table. You can move around the table with your friends just like in a real board game.

• Puzzling Places : A zen experience where you assemble photorealistic 3D puzzles. In local mode, you and your partner can grab and pass puzzle pieces floating in the middle of your living room.

• Bam or Laser Limbo : More action-oriented games that transform your living room into a battle arena or laser obstacle course, using your own furniture as cover.

Top online multiplayer VR games

These games are ideally played remotely.

• Walkabout Mini Golf : Arguably the most user-friendly VR game. The ball physics are perfect, and the slow pace allows for relaxed conversations with friends who are far away.

• Arizona Sunshine 2 : If you prefer action, this title offers a complete narrative campaign to be played cooperatively by two players, to survive against hordes of zombies.

• Beat Saber : The king of rhythm games features a multiplayer mode where you see your friends' avatars alongside you. It's ideal for challenging each other on real-time scores.

Free social multiplayer VR apps

Horizon Worlds or Rec Room : If you don't want to buy a game right away, these "Metaverse" platforms are free. They allow you to create an avatar, visit thousands of worlds created by the community, and participate in mini-games (paintball, escape games) without spending a penny.

Conclusion

Multiplayer VR has gone from a complex experience reserved for experts to a simple and accessible feature for everyone in just a few years. Whether you're taking advantage of the sharing system to play with family at a lower cost, or exploring the mixed reality of the Quest 3 to merge your living rooms, the tools are there.

With the advent of mixed reality, playing together physically in the same living room (shared accommodation) is the new big trend not to be missed to experience unforgettable moments.

FAQ

I can't see my friend in the same room (Local Mode)?

Make sure to check two things: Are you connected to the same Wi-Fi network? Have you enabled "Cloud Point" sharing in the privacy settings on both headsets?

App sharing not working?

Verify that the Admin account has correctly set the guest's headset as their "Primary" headset in the settings. Sharing can only be active on one device at a time.

We can't get along in the game?

Check if you are still in the "Audio Group" (Party) in the Meta menu. Sometimes, the in-game chat conflicts with the party chat. Leave the audio group to use the in-game chat, or vice versa.