Cooperative shifts that sound like rehearsals

Investigator: questions customers aloud. Stocker: roams aisles syncing inventory quirks. Analyst: glued to workstations comparing databases. Rotate each night-hour so nobody burnout-hoards lore clues.

• Use push-to-talk with raised tail thresholds so coughing does not spoof panic.
• Establish safe words when someone needs mute breaks.
• Repeating confirmations twice prevents desync—“Register three clear, Analyst copy?”

Brief SKU anomalies seen last session, note patch rumours, rehearse shorthand for reflections and fuel lane duties.

Tap desk twice for suspicion escalations, flashlight flick doorway corners when cameras glitch. Respect quiet zones-monsters keyed to chatter spikes.

Someone always calls Shelter Plan B-migrate to coolers, choke freezer doors, synchronize healing items. After jumpscare resets, verbally confirm emotional check-ins-human players need reassurance too.

Official Steam and Xbox listings confirm proximity chat — teammates only hear players physically near them in the store. That amplifies horror but forces deliberate regrouping before sharing detector readouts or forecourt findings.

Push-to-talk overlays still help households with background noise. Walk back to the counter before whispering sensitive intel.

Official marketing targets one to three players with proximity chat tuned for small crews. The July 23, 2026 day-one patch added optional six-player lobbies after community feedback — Bun Muen warns larger parties become chaotic and are not recommended for first playthroughs.

Investigator, stocker, and analyst roles assume three-person splits. Oversized lobbies may desync during trap phases — see networking & lobbies if invites fail.

Steam players match only with other Steam owners — no crossplay with Xbox or Game Pass. Bun Muen promised a public server browser on or shortly after the July 22 launch for crews who prefer strangers over invite-only lobbies.

Xbox and Game Pass populations share crossplay across console, Xbox on PC, and Cloud. Align storefronts before sending invites.

Use Steam overlay or itch.io chat sparingly-eye travel kills reflexes-but fall back when household noise dominates.