The official FAQ is a primary document of roughly 23,000 characters: authoritative, but awkward to use, because it is organised by question rather than by "our session is broken, what do we do".
This page breaks it into 26 entries, each with the official English original, which you can expand to verify, our plain-language reading, and how the internet usually gets it wrong.
Hosting self-check
Enter everyone's version number and platform, and it applies the official rules to tell you whether you can connect tonight. This one step saves the half hour most often wasted when a session fails to start.
People in your session
You can play together - your first two version digits are all 1.5
Official rule: if the first two digits of the version number match, you can play together, and the third digit does not matter. Your 1.5.x builds are identical, and although the third digit differs, the official rules say that is fine. The newest one here is 1.5.1; if you cannot connect, have the lower versions update to it first.
Teammate B cannot see friend rooms
The Mac App Store version does not support Game Center, so it will never show up in anybody's friends games list. Do not make this teammate restart repeatedly looking for it - just send them the join code.
Basis: the official FAQ questions "Do all players need to have the same version number?" and "I don't have a standalone microphone...", original text at bigwalk.game/faq. Cross-platform play itself is officially supported, and the note above is only about friend-list visibility.
Players and the world
Decided before you host, and hard to change afterwards
The player count sets a floor, not a ceiling
What does this setting actually limit?
Think of this setting as the minimum number of players who will be participating, rather than the maximum. If some players won't be joining for your whole session, it might be better to pick a lower number.
Our readingWhen you organise the group, ask one question first: who is leaving partway. If even one person has to go early, step the setting down a notch instead of choosing by how many might show up.
Common mistake:The claim that circulates in Chinese guides - "4+ means at most 4" - is wrong. The developers say it flatly elsewhere: this setting only changes how challenges are configured, and does not limit how many players can join.
The count tiers do not limit how many people can actually join
If we pick the 2-player tier, can six of us still come?
Also, please note: the “Players” setting for a game only adjusts how the challenges are configured. It does not limit the number of players that may join.
Our readingSo the player count is a difficulty and configuration switch, not a door. Whoever wants to come can still come - the cost is that puzzles generate for the tier you picked.
Three world variants: 2, 3 and 4+, chosen by the host at the start
Is the content the same at every player count?
A little bit, yes. Each time the host starts a session, they choose a 2 player, 3 player or 4+ player version of the world. Some things in the world change to adapt to each of these choices.
Our readingThis is a difference at the level of plain fact: on the same island, the 2-player and 4+ variants configure puzzles differently. So when you read a guide, check which tier it was written for - the opening drawbridge is the only section identical across all three.
There is no single-player mode
Can I play it alone?
No, sorry. Big Walk is entirely about teamwork and talking. Everything you do in the game is designed for cooperative multiplayer. (You can start a game and explore a little bit as a single player, but you won't get very far.)
Our readingYou can enter the game and walk around alone, but puzzles that physically need two people - the mechanical arm, the cave crate - cannot progress at all. So do not buy this game to learn the map by yourself first.
No random matchmaking; friends only
Can I team up with strangers?
No. Big Walk is a long-form cooperative game. It's made to be played with the same group over multiple sessions, so it doesn't make sense to throw strangers together randomly.
Our readingThat means no players, no game. The first problem a guide site should actually solve for you is how to get four people on the same evening, not how to solve puzzle number 17.
Hosting and joining
Who holds the save, and how people get in
The host holds the save, and when the host quits everyone disconnects
Whose save is it?
A Big Walk host is the keeper of the save game and all of your progress. So, the host of your group will need to start playing first. Once a host starts a session, the other players can then connect to it. When the host stops the session, all other players will be disconnected.
Our readingThe important consequence: **the host cannot be swapped**. If the host cannot make it that night, there is no save to load that night. Deciding who hosts is not casual - give it to whoever is least likely to drop out at short notice.
Common mistake:Many players assume progress is saved per person. It is not. Your teammates' local progress is empty; everything lives on the host's machine.
The join code is regenerated every time you host
How do people who are not on the friends list get in?
A Join Code is a short, unique code that is generated every time the host starts a session. Your host can then share the code with you so you can join.
Our readingLast time's code never works again. Have the host re-send it after each start. It sits in the corner of the host menu, and mid-session you can find it again under Session Details in the in-game menu.
From 1.4.9 a session password is required to start
Why can I no longer start a password-free room?
Session Passwords are now required when starting a game.
Our readingThis is a behaviour change introduced in 1.4.9 - see the patches page. So any tutorial written before mid-August 2026 that says you can leave the password blank is out of date on that step.
Common mistake:The developers also state that your session is visible to friends of friends. So the password is not optional; it is the only thing keeping strangers out.
Online play only needs the first two version numbers to match
Our version numbers differ, can we still play together?
A Big Walk version number is made of three numbers, for example, 1.2.3. Only the first two numbers need to match for players to be able to play together. Don't worry if the third number is different.
Our reading**1.5.1 and 1.5.0 can play together; 1.5.x and 1.4.x cannot.** This rule decides directly whether everybody has to update tonight - if the first two digits agree, do not delay the session waiting for identical builds.
Common mistake:This is the one most often repeated wrongly: cross-platform rollouts happen at different times, so the third digit almost always disagrees, and that is precisely the digit the developers say to ignore.
You can kick players, and change the password mid-session
Somebody is misbehaving. What now?
In Big Walk's in-game menu, select “Session Details”. Then, select “Moderation Settings”. From this handy screen, you can manage all of the players currently in your game.
Our readingIn-game menu, then Session Details, then Moderation Settings to remove someone; the same Session Details screen also lets you change the password. Changing it does not eject people already inside, but new joiners need the new one.
The Mac App Store version has no Game Center
Why cannot my Mac player see friends' rooms?
Note that the Mac App Store version of the game does not support Game Center, so you'll have to use a Join Code.
Our readingIf your Mac teammate installed from the Mac App Store rather than Steam, the friends games list simply does not exist for them. Do not make them restart over and over hunting for it - send the join code.
Communication rules
The most counter-intuitive part of this game
Text chat obeys the distance rules too
What changes if I never use a microphone and only type?
For example, your text chat won't be readable when you are far away, or on opposite sides of soundproof glass! And your text chat will work with in-game items like walkie talkies.
Our readingThis is the design fact this site thinks is most worth knowing: **typing is not a cheat around the restriction**. Distance, soundproof glass and walkie-talkies apply to text exactly as they do to voice. Which means a group that never uses a microphone experiences the same puzzle difficulty as one that does.
Common mistake:Almost every third-party write-up describes text chat as a workaround for the voice limits. The official wording says the opposite.
Out-of-game voice is discouraged by the developers themselves
Can we use third-party voice software?
NO WAY. Talking to players outside the game is ❌ NOT ALLOWED ❌ ... It'd be like playing charades but everybody gets to talk.
Our readingThe developers will not punish you for using it, but part of the premise of some puzzles here is that you cannot hear each other - so external voice skips those puzzles outright. That is why our guides flag which solutions depend on communication being restricted.
Do not share one room, but sharing a house across separate rooms is fine
My friends and I live together, can we still play?
If you're in a house/apartment/business etc., the game won't work if you're all in the same room, since you'll hear each other outside of voice chat. But! If you have multiple devices and multiple rooms, you can absolutely play together with people in separate rooms.
Our reading**This is the correct answer for housemates**: no Discord needed, and nobody has to move out - one person per room, each with headphones. Plenty of long-distance groups do not know this option exists and pay the cost of coordinating across a city instead.
You do not need a standalone microphone
What if I have no separate microphone?
Yes! Switch 2, PS5 Dualsense controllers, Steamdeck, and most laptops all have built-in microphones. You could also play using the microphone from your webcam or headset. Or play the whole game with text chat instead.
Our readingPS5 players, note: the DualSense has a built-in microphone, so you can talk with or without headphones. This removes the buy-a-mic-first prerequisite entirely.
Accessibility
Switches the game ships that most players never find
The host can enable a skip for any challenge
What if I genuinely cannot do one of these?
Big Walk has an in-game setting that can allow you to skip any challenge that might otherwise be inaccessible to you. To enable challenge skipping, the host should use the accessibility menu when starting a session.
Our reading**The host, at session start, from the accessibility menu.** All three conditions are required, which is why groups that get stuck midway cannot find the switch anywhere: it is only offered in that one moment.
Common mistake:The official reason given is that some challenges require hearing or reading, speaking or typing, quick reactions, or fine motor control. Treat it as an escape hatch rather than cheating - that is how the developers designed it.
Some actions can be switched from hold to toggle
Holding a key down too long is a problem. Any option?
Choose between “Hold” or “Toggle” for some controls
Our readingPuzzles that need a key held down indefinitely, such as guarding the telescope, can be moved to toggle mode and free up a hand. This matters most for puzzles that require holding a state for a long time.
Motion sick in first person? There are two official switches
I get queasy after a while. What can I do?
First, you should try one of our unique “Motion Reduction Overlays”, which you can turn on in Settings > General. Second, if you're playing on Mac or PC, you can try adjusting your “Field of View” (FOV) in Settings > Graphics.
Our readingNote that FOV is adjustable on PC and Mac only, not on consoles. So a queasy console player has Motion Reduction Overlays and nothing else.
Troubleshooting
The checklist in the order the developer gives it
Everything online runs on Epic Online Services (EOS)
I cannot join or host anything at all?
If you've ruled out the most common issues but are still unable to join games (or host one yourself), it's likely you are unable to connect to Epic Online Services (EOS) servers.
Our reading**Test EOS reachability first.** Open a command prompt on PC, or Terminal on Mac, and run `ping api.epicgames.dev`. If you get replies, your network is fine and the problem is elsewhere; only if there is no reply at all do you need to touch network settings.
A wrong system clock will block you from connecting outright
The network seems fine but I still cannot join?
First, check your device's system clock to make sure it's accurate. If the system clock varies from the online clock by a significant amount, it will prevent you from either joining a game, or hosting anyone else.
Our reading**The most overlooked and cheapest-to-fix item here.** A device that has slept for a long time, or had a battery swapped - consoles and dual-boot machines especially - can have a clock that is far off, and the symptom looks exactly like a network fault. Make it step zero of any connection investigation.
A Bluetooth headset appears as two separate devices
I have audio but no microphone, or the reverse?
Due to the limitations of Bluetooth connections, a wireless headset operates as two distinct devices: A Headphone device (high quality stereo audio + no microphone input) or A Headset device (lower quality mono audio + microphone input).
Our readingThe fix on Windows 11: right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, open Volume mixer, open Big Walk, click the arrow on the right to expand it, then set both output and input to the **headset** device. The official advice is blunter: use a cable when you can, because this game's audio is deliberately directional and stereo is worth keeping.
XLR mics on common audio interfaces default to CH2, and the game only reads CH1
Pro microphone plus audio interface, and nobody can hear me?
Some popular audio interfaces have XLR microphone inputs that default to Channel 2, but Big Walk can only recieve mic input from the Channel 1 audio stream.
Our readingRemap the microphone to CH1 in your interface's own control software, or use Voicemeeter to build a virtual microphone feeding CH1. If you run an XLR mic and everything else works but this game alone cannot hear you, this is almost certainly why.
The inpoutx64.sys driver on Windows 11 causes freezes
The game keeps freezing, crashing, or dropping frames?
As of an August 2026 windows update, systems with the driver inpoutx64.sys are no longer working correctly when running many games, including Big Walk.
Our readingThe symptoms are freezes, crashes, poor performance or stuttering. This driver usually arrives with older peripheral or virtual-serial-port software. The official remedy is to disable it - the exact steps are in Microsoft's advisory, which the official FAQ links.
Chinese text could render incompletely before 1.5.1
Some characters are blank in Chinese, Japanese or Korean?
Fixed Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts sometimes hitting a character limit and failing to render new characters.
Our reading**This one matters especially for Chinese-language players.** If before 1.5.1 you saw characters missing or simply blank in the interface, it was not your font - the game's glyph table had a cap. Updating to 1.5.1 resolves it.
A black screen on joining is most likely the VC++ redistributable
Black screen when I join a session?
If you have already made sure your graphics card drivers are up to date, a black screen may suggest that your Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installation is missing, out of date, or corrupted.
Our readingDownload and install the latest **both x64 and x86** versions from Microsoft's own site - installing only one is the usual miss.
If the host drops frames, everybody gets network trouble
Everyone is lagging and drifting?
A low graphics framerate, or the host having a low graphics framerate, can cause network issues. If all players on a game are experiencing network issues, it may be that the host is having network troubles.
Our reading**The only judgement you need when everyone is lagging.** If just you are drifting, it is you. If everybody is, have the host lower render scale first - Settings, then Graphics, then Render Scale - and try again. The official order for shaving performance is: lower Render Scale, then lower Quality, then bring Render Scale back up gradually.
When nothing connects, check in this order
The order the official FAQ gives is deliberate: it runs from things almost anybody can fix to things that require touching system settings. Go in order and do not skip ahead.
0
Check the system clock first
The official wording is explicit: a system time that drifts noticeably from real time stops you both joining and hosting. Devices that have slept a long time or had a battery swapped drift most. This step is the easiest fix and the easiest to skip.
1
Confirm you can reach Epic Online Services
In a command prompt on PC, or Terminal on Mac, run ping api.epicgames.dev. No reply means something on the network is blocking you - check the router or parental controls. A reply means the problem is not here.
2
Confirm the host has genuinely loaded into the world
The official requirement is that the host starts the game and their character loads into the world before others can connect. While the host is still sitting in a menu, nobody else can see the room.
3
Look for a connection warning in the bottom-left of the host's screen
The official guidance is that hosts should pay particular attention to connection warnings shown bottom-left. From 1.4.10 those warnings also distinguish slow from unstable.
4
Check that the first two version digits agree
Use the self-check tool above. A different third digit does not matter; a different second digit means you definitely cannot connect.
5
Make sure the password and join code are the current ones
The join code regenerates every time you host, and from 1.4.9 a password is required to start. Reusing last session's code is a common cause of failure.
6
Everyone quits the game fully and starts again
The official text recommends that both players and hosts close the game completely and reopen it. Last resort: restart the machine - a restart, not sleep.
7
PC players: reset the proxy settings
Run netsh winhttp reset proxy in a command prompt. This one works especially when EOS pings fine but you still cannot connect.
All of the above comes from the Troubleshooting and Players chapters of the official FAQ, with no unverified folk remedies added. The official last resort is help@bigwalk.game.
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