How to Fish Multiplayer Not Working — Create Session Fix (Launch Week)

If the Create Session button doesn’t respond when you try to host a How to Fish co-op lobby, you’re not alone — it’s the most reported issue of launch week. The developer hasn’t shipped a permanent patch yet, but there are confirmed workarounds.

Quick fixes, in order of what works

1. Restart both the game and Steam

The most commonly reported fix. Fully close How to Fish (not just alt-tab), quit Steam completely from the system tray, then relaunch both. Session hosting works for most players after this.

2. Join your friend’s lobby instead

Hosting seems flakier than joining. If Create Session keeps failing, have your friend host and you join instead — the join path is currently more reliable than the create path for many players.

3. Verify game files on Steam

Library → right-click How to Fish → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. A small number of players had corrupted downloads causing session failures.

Other multiplayer problems

“Can’t join friend’s lobby” — make sure both players are on the same game version; launch-week hotfixes can desync versions without an obvious prompt.

Want more than 4 players? The official cap is 4 players. The developer has confirmed this is by design, though a Nexus Mods BepInEx mod exists that raises it to 8 — note that mods can break with updates and aren’t officially supported.

Scam Discords warning — fake Discord servers impersonating How to Fish have been reported. Only use the invite linked from the official Steam forum pinned post or the developer’s channels. When in doubt, ask in the official Discord before clicking any external link.

Still broken?

Report it in the official Steam discussions — the developer is active there and has publicly promised bug fixes following the game’s one-million-players milestone. Include your platform, whether you’re hosting or joining, and what you’ve already tried.