At Sony's Gamescom press conference, PlayStation 4's firmware update 2.0 was outlined, and will be coming soon to the console.

The best way to think about Share Play is like a “virtual couch”. PlayStation 4 will create an online local co-op experience by allowing you to invite a friend to join your game—even when they don’t own a copy of it. With this first-of-its-kind feature, you’ll be able to play games with a friend just as if you were together in the same room. Let’s say that with games… you’ll be able to invite your friend online to play against the Miami Heat for the championship as the San Antonio Spurs in NBA2K, tackle the challenging Towerfall Ascension Quest Mode together, or aide, heal, and protect you as Igniculus in Child of Light’s local co-op mode.

With Share Play, you can even jump into a game to assist a friend. For example, if there is part of a game that you can’t quite finish, you can invite a friend to take over your controls. Like handing over the controller to a friend on your couch, your screen will be shared as your friend gets through the part of the game that has been giving you trouble—can’t get past that part in The Last of Us: Remastered when you’re hanging upside down? Get a little help.

A big feature of firmware 2.0 are options surrounding your friends, particularly finding like-minded friends. The new firmware update will also recommend friends for you. Gameplay videos, as previously promised, will also be able to be updated directly to YouTube.However, the biggest feature is SharePlay. SharePlay is a way for you and your friends to play the same game virtually, no matter where you are. If you're in front of a PS4 and your friend is, you can share the same game cooperatively or competitively, without both of you having to actually own the game. From the sound of it, this could be pretty major.Here's more on Share Play, directly from The PlayStation Blog We'll have more on firmware 2.0 soon.

Colin Moriarty is IGN’s Senior Editor. You can follow him on Twitter.