Are Upgrades Shared in Multiplayer

Yes. Since patch 1.0.3 (October 24, 2026), upgrades are shared in Moon Sweepers multiplayer: the whole crew uses the host's Upgrade Matrix, and anyone's purchase upgrades everyone. Saves from before the patch keep the highest upgrade level that any crew member had bought. Money was already shared at launch, so on the current version one shared wallet buys one shared set of upgrades.

The condition that matters most: every crewmate must be on version 1.0.3 to play together. The limitation: the patch note covers the Upgrade Matrix. It does not spell out how vehicles, brushes from the supply wall or inventory items are handled in co-op, so treat those as unconfirmed and check them in your own lobby. Launch-day reviews and guides that say "each player must buy their own upgrades" describe the game before 1.0.3.

What Is Shared on Patch 1.0.3

The first four rows are settled. The last three are the ones to verify before your crew spends a lot of money.

How the Host Upgrade Matrix Works

The Upgrade Matrix is the menu split into cleaning, suit, logistics and economy categories. It holds upgrades such as Wide Head, the brush container upgrades, Leg Servos, Rapid Transfer, Market Contracts, Supplier Network and Region Bounty.

On 1.0.3 there is one matrix per session, and it is the host's. In practice:

• Any crewmate can buy. When a guest buys an upgrade, it is installed on the host's matrix and applies to everyone in the crew.
• Economy upgrades now benefit the whole crew. Launch reviews singled out sell-percentage bonuses as the most painful to buy once per player. On 1.0.3, a single Market Contracts purchase covers the crew.
• The matrix follows the host's save. The patch wording ties the matrix to the host, so when you join a friend's world you play with their upgrade levels. This follows from the patch text; if your crew rotates hosts, check each world's matrix rather than assuming levels carry across.

The developers also listed progression balancing as continuing work, so the contents of the matrix may still change. The sharing rule itself is part of the released patch.

Why the change mattered so much

At launch the wallet was shared but every upgrade was personal. That combination meant a crew paid for the same upgrade once per player out of one bank account. A widely cited launch review called multiplayer virtually unplayable for exactly this reason, pointing out that it applied even to economy and logistics upgrades. Discussion threads titled along the lines of "not sharing upgrades and tools in coop" said the same thing.

The developers responded within a day. Their October 24 message listed shared multiplayer upgrades first among the fixes already released, and the reviewer who raised the complaint updated their review to say the issue had been fixed. If you read a co-op complaint dated October 23, check whether it predates this patch before acting on it.

What Happened to Upgrades You Bought Before 1.0.3

Many crews spent the first launch day buying the same upgrades several times. The patch handled that conservatively: an existing save keeps the highest upgrade level purchased by any crew member.

For example, if one player had bought Market Contracts to its second level and another player had only the first level, the shared matrix keeps the second level. Nobody loses progress in the move to a shared matrix. Money already spent on duplicate purchases is not mentioned as refunded in the notes.

If a level looks lower than you expected after updating, have the host open the matrix and compare it with what each player remembers buying. Make sure everyone has actually updated, because a crewmate on an older build cannot join.

Everyone Must Run Version 1.0.3

The patch note is explicit that all crewmates must be on version 1.0.3 to play together. When a friend cannot join:

1. Restart Steam on every machine so the update downloads.
2. Check that nobody has opted into a preview branch. The game's Steam branch list includes preview branches, including one for 1.0.4. A player on a preview build may not match the rest of the crew.
3. Let the download finish before launching. A partly updated install still counts as a version mismatch.
4. Have the host load the world after everyone is updated, then invite again.

Planning Purchases as a Crew Now

With a shared matrix, the planning problem is no longer "who buys what for themselves". It is "what does the crew buy next with one wallet". A few habits keep money from being wasted:

• Name one buyer per upgrade. Two people clicking the same entry at the same moment is still possible in a busy lobby. Agree out loud first.
• Buy economy upgrades early. Market Contracts and Region Bounty now pay out on everything the crew delivers and every region the crew finishes.
• Split the crew by job, not by upgrade path. Some players clean, some drive vehicles, someone builds and checks that dust reaches the Depot. Everyone benefits from the same upgrades.
• Treat vehicles separately. Before a second player buys a vehicle, open the Garage store and see whether it already shows that vehicle as owned. On 1.0.3 the store no longer offers vehicles you already own, which makes this a quick check.

Host Controls in Your Crew

Patch 1.0.3 also added host moderation, which matters more now that every purchase affects the whole crew.

• Open the ESC menu and select Your Crew to see everyone in the session.
• The host can kick a player, which removes them from the current session.
• The host can ban a player, which stops them from joining that particular save again.
• The host can unban a player from the same list.

A ban applies to that save, not to every world the host owns.

Solo Saves and Crews That Change Hosts

Shared upgrades change how you should think about where progress lives.

• Your solo world keeps its own matrix. When you host, your levels are the crew's levels. Inviting friends into a well-upgraded solo save gives them your upgrades immediately.
• Joining a newer world starts from that host's levels. If a friend has just started a fresh save, expect early-game levels while you play there, even if your own world is fully upgraded.
• Pick one main world for a regular crew. If the same group plays together most sessions, having one person host the main save keeps all purchases in one matrix instead of spread across several worlds.
• Big crews still share one matrix. Lobbies hold up to 16 players, and the rule is the same at any size: one host matrix, one wallet.

None of this changes vehicles or tools, which remain the unconfirmed part of co-op ownership.

Co-op Issues the Patch Did Not Settle

Shared upgrades fixed the biggest complaint, but the developers' own list of ongoing work still includes remaining crashes, performance problems, automation reliability and J.O.O.N.A.S units stopping when players move away. Some launch-week groups reported frequent crashes, while others played long sessions without trouble.

For a crew, that means two practical habits. Agree on purchases before a long session so an unexpected disconnect does not leave people unsure what was bought, and let the host check the Upgrade Matrix after any crash to confirm the latest purchases were kept.

Old Advice You Can Ignore Now

Several launch-week tips no longer apply on 1.0.3:

• "Each player must buy every upgrade." Replaced by the shared host matrix.
• "Only the host should place mergers and splitters." Crewmate-built splitters and mergers now work, so host-only building is no longer required.
• "Brush capacity upgrades stay personal." Container upgrades sit in the Upgrade Matrix, which is now shared. Tools bought from the supply wall are a separate case and are not addressed by the patch.

Advice about money stays the same: the wallet was shared before the patch and still is.

Quick Test to Confirm Sharing in Your Lobby

If you want certainty for the unconfirmed items, a short test answers it without spending much:

1. The host opens the Upgrade Matrix and notes the level of one cheap entry.
2. A guest buys that entry.
3. Both players reopen the matrix and confirm the new level shows for each of them.
4. The guest checks the supply wall and the Garage store to see which tools and vehicles appear as owned.
5. Write down what you find so the crew does not repeat purchases later.

Sharing of Upgrade Matrix levels is confirmed by the patch notes. The test is mainly useful for tools, vehicles and items, where the research does not give a clear answer.