How to play Black Ops Cold War Zombies split-screen

Andrew Highton
cold war zombies duplicated

Black Ops Cold War’s different Zombies modes can be enjoyed in split-screen action, yet many don’t realize you can do this. Our quick guide will help you set up a local game of Cold War Zombies for you and a friend.

Nearly a full year into its lifecycle, Black Ops Cold War Zombies has positively excelled and delivered multiple different zombie experiences.

From Mauer der Toten’s chaos on the streets, to Outbreak’s open-world adventuring, to Forsaken’s upcoming arcade fun, there’s been something for everyone. Yet, players think these pleasures can only be enjoyed online – this is not the case.

Cold War Zombies can be experienced by two people on the same TV, and our guide will run you through how to enjoy Cold War Zombies in split-screen.

How to play Die Maschine, Firebase Z, Mauer der Toten, and Outbreak Zombies in Cold War split-screen

player fighting a disciple in mauer der toten

The very simple things you will need to play Cold War Zombies in split-screen are two people, a PlayStation or Xbox, two controllers, Black Ops Cold War, and a TV!

For a more detailed walkthrough on how to set a game up, follow these simple steps:

  1. Start up Black Ops Cold War, on any platform
  2. Access the ‘Zombies’ portion of the game, and head to its main menu
  3. Have a second controller be connected to your console
  4. Make sure the person is signed in either to their account or a guest profile
  5. On the main menu screen, Press ‘X’ on PlayStation or ‘A’ on Xbox with the second controller
  6. Wait a few seconds for the other player to join
  7. Once they are in your party, select whichever game mode you desire and enjoy!

How to fix Cold War Zombies split-screen issues

cold war forsaken teaser

The above method doesn’t work for everyone sadly, and there is a solution to try and get around these problems.

Here are two possible solutions in case you come unstuck.

  1. Firstly, check if you get the “You need PlayStation Plus to access this feature” message
  2. If it happens, press ‘X’ / ‘A’
  3. If it doesn’t work, and you get the following message: “This content cannot be selected at this time,” then press the same button again
  4. Hopefully this fixes it

There’s plenty of fun to be had with Cold War Zombies, especially with the final round-based Zombies map on the way – Forsaken. Hopefully, you can enjoy the content in split-screen.

Also, check out everything we know about CoD: Vanguard Zombies so far.

Image Credit: Activision / Treyarch