BeamNG.drive v0.40 adds split-screen for up to 64 players, launches on PS5

BeamNG released version 0.40 of BeamNG.drive on 19 October 2026, and its headline feature is local split-screen multiplayer for up to 64 players on PC. The same update is the base for the PlayStation 5 version, which Gematsu reported would launch in Early Access on October 19, with split-screen there capped at 4 players, according to BeamNG's own site.

What 0.40 adds

In the Steam post "Get Comfy: Split the Screen in v0.40", BeamNG calls split-screen one of the community's most-requested features. In Freeroam, all players start at a random spot, each with a random vehicle suited to the map. For structured play there are seven modes: Race, which supports over 85 existing Time Trial and AI Race layouts, plus Drag Race, Pursuit, Derby, Drift, Rock Crawling and Soccer.

The second big change is physical occupants. Passengers now sit in vehicles and react to the same physics as everything else, and each adds 89 kg to the seat and the car. You can leave your own vehicle and climb into a friend's while they drive. Walking mode gets a new character mesh, and your character finally shows up in mirrors.

The new truck is the Cherrier Percheron; SteamDB's copy of the patch notes lists frames in five lengths from 6.17 m to 9.80 m, with air and leaf suspension. The update also adds upscaling options, optimizations and native Windows on Arm support, where players on compatible devices can pick between the native and the emulated x64 build. A hotfix, v0.40.1, dated October 20, fixed a hang in the split-screen settings menu and a UI crash on PS5.

Players and press

On Steam's most played chart, the game ranked 34th on 20 October with a peak of 38,972 players, up from 52nd a week earlier. Reviews are arriving faster too: 1,185 in 47 hours, about 600 a day against an average of 102 since release, and 96 percent of them positive. Overall the game sits at 97 percent of 425,247 reviews, rated Overwhelmingly Positive.

Push Square's PS5 hands-on calls the game a "Minor Miracle on PS5" and says the console version is up to date with PC, including all maps, challenges and modes. PC Games ran its piece under the headline "Die beste Simulation des Jahres kommt aus Deutschland". Not everyone on PC is happy: in the Steam community, one thread asks where the promised performance improvements are, its author saying the game runs worse and loads slower, while another reports issues on some PCs since 0.40.

For anyone starting now, BeamNG.drive costs $24.99 on Steam with no discount running. It has been in Early Access on PC since May 29, 2015, and Push Square notes it remains Early Access on PS5 as well. Console players should know that, according to Gematsu, mods are not available on PlayStation at launch and tools like the World Editor are not planned there; DualShockers reports FSR 3 on the regular PS5 and PSSR on the PS5 Pro. PC players with performance worries may want to watch the forum threads and follow-up patches.