There is no permanent fix yet for the How to Fish Create Session bug. Restart the game and Steam, install any available update, check the game files, and make sure Steam is online. If clicking Create Session still does nothing, have a friend host and join their session instead.
How to Fish is the physics-based co-op fishing game from Dazed Games that launched on Steam on August 20, 2026. Its launch-window multiplayer bug can stop you right at the start: pressing Create Session does nothing, the lobby never opens, and you cannot enter a game from there. Run the checks below in order, then use a friend’s lobby to keep playing if hosting remains unavailable.
What we know about the Create Session problem
The bug has one clear behavior: you click to create a session, nothing happens on screen, and you cannot play through that lobby. No developer patch or official workaround has been released, and the exact cause of the unresponsive button remains unknown.
This is a launch-window co-op hosting problem, so rule out local Steam and PC issues before waiting for a game update. The ordinary Steam-PC checks below clear the common problems that stop a multiplayer button from opening a lobby.
Quick checks before assuming the game is broken
Restart the game, then Steam
Fully close How to Fish, quit Steam from the tray, and relaunch both to clear a stalled session process.
Check for a game update
In your Steam Library, right-click How to Fish and make sure it is fully updated. Launch-window fixes can arrive quickly.
Verify the game files
Right-click How to Fish, open Properties, and use Installed Files to run the integrity check and repair any corrupt files.
Confirm Steam is online
Make sure Steam is not in Offline Mode and that your connection is active, because session hosting requires Steam’s online services.
Wait, then try hosting again
Wait briefly, then press Create Session again after the multiplayer service has had time to recover.
Try joining instead of hosting
Have a friend host and join their session. If that works, the problem affects creating a session rather than multiplayer as a whole.
If hosting fails, have a friend create the session and join theirs instead — this gets you into co-op immediately and shows that the issue is specific to creating a lobby, not to multiplayer overall.
If Create Session still does nothing
Note your game version
Record the version number if it is visible in-game so Dazed Games knows which build has the bug.
Record what does and doesn’t work
State whether solo play launches and whether you can join someone else’s session.
Add your region and time
Include your rough region and the time the bug occurred to help identify a related service outage.
Check Steam overlay and friends
Check whether the Steam overlay and your friends list are working normally at the same time.
Describe the exact behavior
Write down precisely what happens after you press Create Session — no lobby, an error, or nothing at all.
Report it on the Steam forum
Post the bug with those details in the game’s Steam community discussions so Dazed Games can address it.
Problems this fix does not cover
| Problem | Use |
|---|---|
| Create Session button does nothing | This troubleshooting guide |
| Stuck on a boss or island progression | A gameplay guide, not this |
| Missing achievements or fishing mechanics | A gameplay guide, not this |
| Lost or missing save progress | A gameplay guide, not this |
Key This is strictly a multiplayer session-creation issue, so focus your troubleshooting on hosting and connecting. A boss, island, achievement, fishing mechanic, or missing save is a separate gameplay problem, and none of the checks above apply to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you still play How to Fish solo if session creation fails?
Yes. How to Fish supports 1 to 4 players and is fully playable alone. You can complete the entire game, all five islands, and the ending solo. If the co-op Create Session button is unresponsive but single-player starts normally, continue progressing alone until the multiplayer bug is fixed.
Does How to Fish support more than four players?
No. The game caps online co-op at four players. Players have asked Dazed Games to raise the limit to six, but four is the maximum for a single session.
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