Permafrost Co-op: Host, Join, Steam Invites and Save Progress
Play Permafrost with friends: host or join a world, use Steam invitations, troubleshoot missing sessions and understand characters, quest progress and the dog.
Short answer: one player opens a world through Play → Host Multiplayer; friends enter through Play → Join Multiplayer Sessions. Loading the world in solo does not create a co-op session. Permafrost supports up to four players, including the host.
Official PC Early Access instructions checked October 13, 2026. Menu labels are kept in English for comparison with the game; connection scenarios have not been independently tested here.
Host and join the same world
The official co-op guide gives this setup:
- The host chooses Play → Host Multiplayer.
- Select an existing world or create one. Set a password if wanted and allow enough player slots.
- Start the session and wait for it to load.
- Friends choose Play → Join Multiplayer Sessions, select the session and enter its password if requested.
The official Known Issues post says guests can join after the host reaches the cabin. Check that condition before treating a missing session as a connection fault.
Steam invitations require the joining player at the menu
The October 11 patch enables Steam chat invitations and joining from the friends list when the joining player has already launched Permafrost and reached the main menu.
This supersedes the older Known Issues entry saying invitations are unavailable. If an invitation fails, put the friend at the main menu and retry, or use the in-game session browser.
Cannot find or join your friend's session?
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Session not listed | The host used Host Multiplayer, not solo, and reached the cabin. |
| Wrong password | Confirm the current password and remove accidental spaces. |
| Session full | The player limit leaves a free slot. |
| Multiplayer greyed out or authentication token missing | Steam is online; the official issue post also suggests turning off a VPN. |
| Joining still fails | Both players have updated the game; restart and retry. |
The October 10 update improved the friends-only server list. It does not guarantee that every session-discovery issue is resolved. If the game closes while joining, use our crash guide.
Save progress, characters and quest actions
Characters belong to the host's world. Your solo character does not carry into a friend's world; the host should load the same world next time. Check the world selection before assuming a missing character means save corruption.
The official Known Issues post advises letting the host perform main quest and Skinwalker actions. That is a progression workaround, not a promise that all guest actions are equivalent. See High Frequency for the radio quest's order and patch state.
Who owns the dog, and what should you report?
The developer describes one dog per world, belonging to the host. Guests may see its harness without the dog model because of a visibility bug. This does not establish that the dog was deleted or that every guest should get another dog.
For an unresolved issue, report whether you are host or guest, the exact error and the step where joining or progress fails. Send logs and saves through the support file hub, keeping the session password out of public reports. For settlement travel, continue with our fast travel guide.
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