The multiplayer component has become of fundamental importance in many titles, just think of the enormous popularity achieved by genres such as Battle Royale, which in fact finds its pivot in online games that often see the participation of several players. I bet that as soon as you bought your PS4 in the store you too have thought of exciting challenges against players from all over the world.
However, it’s not exactly clear to you about the dynamics of online multiplayer on Sony’s console. Don’t worry: it is normal to not have understood some dynamics when you are a novice user. In any case, you have come to the right place: I am going to explain to you how to play online on PS4 .
I will therefore answer numerous questions that you are surely asking yourself, for example: is it compulsory to subscribe to a paid subscription to play online on PS4? Can I play online with people who have a different console? If you are ready to deepen the topic properly, you just have to take some free time and follow the quick instructions below. Enjoy your reading and have fun!
Index
- How to play PS4 online
- How to connect the PS4 to the Internet
- How to access the PlayStation Network
- How to play PS4 online for free
- How to play PS4 online PlayStation Plus
- How to play PS4 online with friends
- How to play online between PS4 and Xbox
How to play PS4 online
Your doubts about how to play online on PS4 are about to be dispelled: in fact, I am going to analyze the situation step by step, in order to guide you straight to your goal. Below you will find all the information you need regarding the console’s Internet connection, access to the PlayStation Network, the titles that can be played for free online and the issue of paid video games.
How to connect the PS4 to the Internet
Let’s start with the basics. To play online with PS4 you must have a free PSN account : to create the latter you must have an active internet connection . The first step you need to take, therefore, is to connect your PS4 to the internet.
There are two ways to do this: one involves connecting the console directly to a router via an Ethernet cable , the other is connecting to a Wi-Fi network . If you did not set up an Internet connection during the initial console setup, fix it immediately by following these simple instructions.
- To connect the PS4 to the Internet via an Ethernetcable : insert the cable into the appropriate port on the console and into one of the free ports on your router. No further configuration should be required.
- To set up a Wi-Fi connection: turn on the console, go to the menu located at the top of the screen (by pressing the up arrow ) and select the Settings icon (the toolbox). Then go to the Network , select the item Configure Internet connection and choose the options Use Wi-Fi> Typical . Then press on the name of the wireless network you want to use, type in the access key and that’s it.
In short, you shouldn’t have too many problems in carrying out this operation, as it is very simple. In any case, for any doubts you can consult my guide on how to go on the Internet with PS4 .
Note : the wired connection guarantees less data dispersion than the Wi-Fi connection. If you notice noticeable slowdowns in your online multiplayer games, try using the wired connection instead of the wireless one. As for the speed of the Internet connection , in order not to experience annoying slowdowns during games played on the Internet, you need to have a low ping (i.e. low latency times) and a good upload speed . The download speed is more important in the download of updates and the download of titles in digital format rather than in the online game. In this regard, I recommend that you read my tutorial onhow to improve connection on PS4 .
How to access the PlayStation Network
The next step to take to play PS4 online is to create a free account on the PlayStation Network .
Then go back to the PlayStation 4 Settings menu , select the PlayStation Network / Account Management item from the screen that appears and press on the option Log in to PlayStation Network / Log in .
Next, select the entry New PlayStation Network user? Create an account , press the Sign up now button and fill out the form that is proposed to you by selecting your country or region , your language and your date of birth from the appropriate drop-down menus.
Then click on the Next button and provide all the other requested information, i.e. City and Province of residence, as well as the Postal Code . When you have completed the form, press the Next button again and set the Login ID (i.e. your email address) and Password to access the PSN.
Please leave the boxes for receiving information on Sony products and services unchecked (otherwise you will receive promotional emails from Sony) and go ahead again .
Finally, choose an online ID (i.e. the username that other network users will see), type your real Name and Surname in the appropriate text fields, press the Next button and adjust the privacy settings relating to activities, trophies won , friend requests and so on.
When the operation is completed, press the Accept button to accept the conditions of use of the SEN (Sony Entertainment Network) service and wait to receive the confirmation e-mail from Sony for registering for the PSN. As soon as you receive the message, open it and press the button in it, to confirm your identity.
After this step, go back to the PS4 , press the Already verified button and wait for the TV to confirm that your account has been verified. Then press the Continue button , choose whether to connect your PlayStation Network account to Facebook and whether to subscribe immediately to PlayStation Plus (I recommend that you skip the procedure and face it more calmly by following the instructions later in this tutorial), confirm your wish to activate your console as the main PS4 system and press the OK button to complete the PSN registration procedure.
In short, this is nothing too complex and, among other things, you can refer to my guide on how to access the PlayStation Network for any doubts.
How to play PS4 online for free
Now that you have a console set up for internet access and a PlayStation Network account, you can already safely start playing Free to Play titles .
In fact, you should know that it is not necessary to subscribe to play the free titles online . I am referring, just to be clear, to games like Fortnite and Rocket League , which can be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store , or from the official digital store integrated within the PlayStation 4.
If you want to learn more about the titles of this type available, you can refer to my guide linked to the best Free To Play for PS4 . In any case, simply open the PlayStation Store (using the bag icon on the main page of the console), use the search function to find the game of your interest, select the title box and press the Download button .
After that, once the download is complete, you can safely start the game and take advantage of the online features , so you can play online games without subscribing . In short, it’s all very simple: in the case of free to play, you just need to refer to the classic download procedure, also illustrated in my guide on how to download free games on PS4 and have fun.
However, keep in mind that there are some exceptions . If, for example, you are wondering how to play PES online on PS4 , you should know that the LITE version of the latter (now known as eFootball ) can be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store but requires a subscription to play online .
Therefore, I invite you to pay attention to the indications on the store page , as in the case of some free titles it is made clear that a subscription is still required.
How to play PS4 online PlayStation Plus
In case the Free to Play titles are not for you, or you want to play multiplayer on a paid title – or that requires a subscription to access the online features -, you will have to go for the PlayStation Plus subscription .
In short, whether you are wondering, for example, how to play FIFA online on PS4 or how to play Minecraft online on PS4 , the instructions below will lead you to your goal.
To take a look at the offers available , simply press the X button on the controller above the PlayStation Store icon , which is located on the main console screen, and select the PS Plus option from the list on the left .
By doing so, you will see the boxes related to the subscriptions applicable to your account appear on the screen . Sony’s proposals clearly vary depending on the promotional period . To be clear, as I indicated in my guide on how to get the PlayStation Plus for free , in some contexts someone has managed to activate a free 14-day trial for the PlayStation Plus, but it is not said that the latter, generally reserved for new users , is available in your case.
In any case, you can safely subscribe to the available subscriptions , or those that are present in the section that I explained to you how to reach previously.
More precisely, the options of 1 month (8.99 euros), 3 months (24.99 euros) and 12 months (54.99 euros) are usually available . All you have to do is make your choice, then set a valid payment method and complete the transaction . You shouldn’t have too many problems completing this operation, but if you need more details you can refer to my tutorials on how to pay on the PlayStation Store and how to activate the PlayStation Plus (I remind you that on my site you can also find the guide on how turn off the PlayStation Plus , which may come in handy if you want to avoid theautomatic renewal ).
In any case, for completeness of information you must know that there is also the possibility of buying cards and codes related to the PlayStation Plus through online stores such as Amazon , for example. In some cases the codes are essentially instantly sent digitally , while in others there is a physical card which then carries the code.
PlayStation Plus 1 Month Subscription | PSN Download Code – Accoun …
See offer on Amazon
PlayStation Plus 3 Month Subscription | PSN Download Code – Accoun …
See offer on Amazon
PlayStation Plus 12 Month Subscription | PSN Download Code – Accou …
See offer on Amazon
In case you are interested in this possibility, perhaps because you are more familiar, for example, with Amazon than with the PlayStation Store, you can then follow my guide on how to redeem the PlayStation Plus code to be able to activate the subscription in this way.
For the rest, now that you have a subscription to the PlayStation Plus , you can safely play any video game online . You just have to start the title of your interest and take advantage of the appropriate online features .
How to play PS4 online with friends
If your intention is to play online with your group of friends , let me give you some additional guidance.
Well, you should know that the PlayStation world offers a variety of features to connect with other people. Of course, first of all you might be interested in learning how to add friends on PS4 , so that you can reach out to others. The starting point is obviously the Friends section , present in the top bar of the main console screen.
For the rest, I advise you to deepen the question of the Party , or the possibility of using voice chat . In other words, perhaps taking advantage of the special headphones with microphone (in the PS4 sales package there is also an accessory of this type), you can talk in real time with your friends while having fun. All this even without a PlayStation Plus subscription.
The rooms linked to the Parties can accommodate up to 16 people at the same time: you can access the function linked to the Parties by pressing the appropriate icon in the top bar starting from the main screen of the PlayStation 4. For more details on this possibility, I invite you to consult my guide on how to talk about Fortnite for PS4 , in which I made a practical example and explained a little everything there is to know about this possibility.
Among other things, in that tutorial you can see that some games have internal settings related to the activation of voice chat . In short, you may also be interested in investigating that possibility in some cases.
For the rest, once you have possibly configured the Party with your friends and can therefore talk to each other, just start the title you want to play together (which obviously must integrate an online multiplayer feature) and look for the option to invite friends. (You may need to add them as friends first via the appropriate console feature).
Unfortunately in this context I cannot go into too much detail, as each game is a story in itself . However, generally the invitation functionality is essentially never hidden and can be found perhaps in the start menu or by pausing the game.
Of course, it all depends on the title involved, but generally speaking, for a practical example , you might want to take a look at my guide on how to play Minecraft for PS4 online .
How to play online between PS4 and Xbox
How do you say? Would you like to learn how to play with people who have a different console than yours ? Well, whether you are wondering, for example, how to play online between PS4 and Xbox One , how to play online between PS4 and Nintendo Switch or how to play online between PS4 and PS5 , this is the part of the guide for you.
In fact, you should know that only some games allow users to play online from different consoles. More precisely, if you want to play with a friend of yours who has the title involved on another platform , it is necessary to choose a cross-play game (checking between which platforms this possibility is enabled).
The latter is in fact the term used to indicate those titles that have systems capable of going beyond platforms , allowing, for example, a PlayStation user to reach an Xbox player within an online game. Generally, in these cases we go through accounts linked to the game and for invitations (similar to what was explained in the previous chapter ), but clearly there are many variables involved , also given the high number of titles out there.
So I can’t go into further detail, but at least now you are aware of what you need to look for in a video game to be able to play with your friends who have another console. To give you a concrete example, among the most famous video games that support cross-play (also known as cross-platform) there are Fortnite and Rocket League . The former supports cross-play between PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, while the latter implements this functionality for PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch.
