Dead Island 2 multiplayer: How does co-op work & is it crossplay?

radiotimes.com:

Having a kickabout, chatting, and slaying zombies — all perfect examples of fun group activities. If you’ve been thinking about picking up Dead Island 2 but don’t want to be put through HELL-A alone, you’re in luck. The game features online co-op multiplayer.

Before you dive straight in, though, you’ll need to know how it all works. Co-op here isn’t as straightforward as it is in some other games and does come with some requirements that are worth knowing.

Read on to discover everything there is to know about Dead Island 2 multiplayer. Here’s the lowdown on how co-op works in the game, including details on number of players, how to unlock and more, and whether there is cross-play or not.

You can play online co-op in Dead Island 2 with two other players — the maximum group size is three players, so don't go trying to get a fourth friend into the mix.

How do you play Dead Island 2 in a multiplayer fashion? Simply head into the game’s main menu to host or join a co-op session.

Dead Island 2 co-op unlocks during the Call the Cavalry story mission, which should be around an hour into the game.

All story progress, items unlocked, and achievements/trophies earned during co-op will carry on into single-player and vice-versa. This is the case whether you hosted the co-op session or joined as a client. You can’t jump forward in the story by playing co-op.

Let’s say you reached mission number four and your friend is on mission six. You cannot join your friend for a co-op session of mission six until you too have reached that level. Your friend, though, can replay through missions four and five with you, as long as you are the host.

It’s worth making the player who’s furthest behind in the story the co-op host to avoid progress