'Stardew Valley’ Mobile Has a Hidden Multiplayer Co-op Mode

I'll admit, I never got swept up in the Stardew Valley hype. Don't get me wrong: I really enjoyed the game, but I wasn't initially obsessed with it the way I was with Animal Crossing or Breath of the Wild. However, multiplayer support reignited my interest in the game: All of a sudden, I could start a farm with my friends, and we could all take turns maintaining the crops and cattle and managing the various tasks around town. (Personally, I just liked going fishing all day.)

As fun as Stardew's multiplayer is, it turns out a significant fraction of the fan base never got to try it out. Until this week, I had no idea the mobile version of Stardew Valley didn't support co-op. Even though playing on my Switch feels like mobile gaming, it counts as a console, meaning my little underpowered Nintendo tablet from 2017 could connect with friends over the internet, but my overpowered iPhone from 2023 couldn't.

That has changed with the app's big 1.6 update on mobile. The update dropped on PC in March of this year, and finally shipped to mobile users earlier this month. Version 1.6 adds a ton of new features and bug fixes to the game across platforms, and even adds the option to play with up to eight other players on PC. And finally, mobile users now have access to a version of co-op multiplayer, albeit a limited one.

You won't know it from booting up the app as normal, however. Nor will you see it mentioned in the release notes. Instead, you'll need to use a secret backdoor to access multiplayer on mobile, as outlined by Android Authority.

How to play Stardew Valley co-op on mobile

First, you'll need the paid version of the Stardew Valley app on iOS or Android. (Stardew Valley+, the Apple Arcade version of the game, doesn't support co-op at all.) You'll also need to make sure you've updated your game to version 1.6 via the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android).

Once you launch the game, you'll need to access a hidden settings menu. Once the Stardew Valley logo appears, tap the corners of the sign in the correct order, then tap the ? in the bottom right, like so:

Top right, top right, bottom left, bottom left, top left, bottom right, top left, bottom right, ?. (Astutegamers may recognize the patterns as a partial Konami code.) Back out of the help menu, and you should now see the Co-op option in the main menu.

Unfortunately, that's not the end of it. In addition to actually accessing this hidden option, you also need to be on the same game version as the other players. Right now, everything's on the same version, so that shouldn't be a problem (so long as everyone's updated), but that could become a problem if, say, Stardew issues a major update on PC before it drops for other devices.

In addition, you'll needto be on the same local network as other players in order to play together. That will require finding the IP address of the player hosting the game, since Stardew Valley will ask you for it when trying to join. Luckily, this will work for most devices the host it using, whether that be Mac, PC, Android, or iOS. (Check out this earlier article to learn how to find the IP address for your particular device.)

Once you have the IP address, tap Co-op, then choose Join > Join LAN Game... and enter the IP address when prompted. Tap the green tick icon, then choose the active game from the list. Congratulations! You're now playing multiplayer Stardew on your iPhone or Android.