You're standing in a dimly lit corridor, clutching a fragile crystalline vase that costs more than your life insurance policy. Your heart is hammering against your ribs because you just heard a metallic clink from the vent above. Honestly, this is the average Tuesday in R.E.P.O. (Retrieve, Extract and Profit Operation), the physics-based horror hit that’s been eating up everyone's Steam playtime lately. But before you dive into the scrap heap, you need to know who's coming with you.
If you're wondering how many people can play REPO, the answer is actually a bit more generous than some of its closest competitors. While games like Lethal Company or Content Warning usually cap you at a quartet, Semiwork decided to turn the chaos up a notch.
The Magic Number: How Many People Can Play REPO?
The official word is six players. You can have yourself and five other friends (or soon-to-be-enemies) in a single lobby. It’s a bit of a "sardine-can" situation, especially when you’re all trying to squeeze through a door while carrying heavy physics-based loot, but that’s half the fun.
- Official Lobby Size: 1 to 6 players.
- The Sweet Spot: Most veterans say 4 is the most balanced, but 6 is pure, unadulterated comedy.
- Solo Play: Yes, you can go in alone, but it’s basically a suicide mission unless you’re some kind of stealth god.
Why six? It seems the developers wanted to lean into the "industrial nightmare" aesthetic. Having six bodies running around makes the proximity chat absolute gold. You’ll hear a scream from two floors up, a frantic "Don't drop that!" from the hallway, and then the sound of a vase shattering into a thousand pieces. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s exactly what the game wants to be.
How to Get Your Squad Together
Getting into a game isn't exactly rocket science, but there's a specific flow you've got to follow. Currently, the game relies heavily on Steam's infrastructure.
- Host a Game: One person needs to be the designated "Captain" (preferably the guy with the fiber internet). Click New Game, hit Yes on the pop-up, and you'll find yourself in the lobby.
- The Invite Phase: Look at the bottom right of the lobby box. There’s a big Invite button. This pulls up your Steam overlay. Just right-click your friends and send the summons.
- Joining In: If you're not the host, just make sure you're appearing online. You can also hit Join Game from the main menu to see which of your friends are already in a lobby.
- Customization: Before you drop, you can change your suit colors. It helps to not look like a generic robot when you're trying to figure out who just tripped over a landmine.
One thing to keep in mind: as of early 2026, there is no public matchmaking. You can't just hop into a lobby with randoms through a server browser yet. You need to actually have people on your Steam friends list or find folks on the official Discord to invite.
Can You Play With More Than 6 People?
This is where things get "kinda" experimental. If you've been on the Steam Community forums lately, you might have seen people talking about 10-player or even 20-player lobbies.
Are they lying? Not exactly.
The modding community for REPO is already massive. Using tools like r2modman or browsing the Thunderstore, you can find mods like "More Players" by zelofi. These mods technically break the hard cap and let you bring in a small army.
But—and this is a big but—the game isn't built for it. The Echo mechanics, the way monsters like the Headman or the Huntsman target players, and the internal VOIP systems are all tuned for a maximum of 6. When you shove 12 people into a map meant for 4 or 6, things break. Voices might stutter, the physics engine might start throwing items into the stratosphere, and the game’s "paranoia" scaling goes completely haywire. If you’re going to mod it, just be ready for some technical jank.
Why Player Count Changes the Difficulty
Playing with two people is a completely different game than playing with six.
When you’re in a Duo, everything is high-stakes. If one person goes down, the other has to play Medic and Scout at the same time. The "revive window" feels much tighter because there's no one to cover you while you're reviving.
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In a Full 6-Man Squad, you have luxury. You can actually assign roles. You have one person who is strictly the "Lure" (the loud guy who draws aggro), one "Medic" who stays near the back, and a "Scout" who handles the lights. The downside? Resource scarcity. The more people you have, the more you have to spend on upgrades and healing. The "SURPLUS" money doesn't magically multiply just because you brought more friends. You're going to be fighting over who gets the better boots or the energy cells.
Expert Tips for Managing Large Groups
If you’re actually going to run a full 6-player lobby, you need a plan. Otherwise, you’ll spend 20 minutes just trying to get everyone to walk in the same direction.
- Designate a "Pack Mule": Have one or two players focus on just getting the loot back to the extraction point while the others clear the path.
- Mic Discipline: The proximity chat is cool, but if six people are screaming at once, nobody hears the monster sneaking up.
- The "Buddy System": Split into three groups of two. It covers more ground and ensures nobody dies alone in a dark corner where their body can't be recovered.
Honestly, the best part of having six people is the "trash chute" mechanic. If you fail to meet your quota, the boss drops you all into a pit to fight it out. Seeing five of your friends scrambling for a massive inflatable hammer to decide who the "king of the losers" is? That’s peak gaming.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
Ready to jump back in? Here is exactly what you should do to make your next session work:
- Check your NAT type: If you're hosting for 5 other people, make sure your connection is stable. A host crash kills the run for everyone.
- Download r2modman: Even if you don't want more players, mods like "latejoin" are life-savers for when a friend's game crashes halfway through a mission.
- Assign the "Lure" early: Pick the friend with the loudest mic and the least survival instinct. They are now your official monster bait.
- Prioritize the Service Station: With 6 people, buy the "Team Revive" or "Medkit" upgrades first. You’re going to need them more than fancy flashlights.
REPO is essentially a game about managed chaos. Whether you’re running a tight duo or a screaming 6-man mob, the physics engine is going to find a way to humble you. Just make sure you don't drop the vase. It's expensive.