Do this first

The quick route

  1. Stand next to a friend in an open area and test at close range.
  2. Confirm your preferred microphone is the active system input.
  3. Leave external party chat or switch the console back to game chat.
  4. Check that neither the microphone nor game voice chat is muted.
  5. Install the latest Big Walk update and restart the game.

Expected proximity behavior

Voice getting quieter with distance is not automatically a fault. Communication range is part of Big Walk's design, and walls or in-game situations can restrict it. Walkie-talkies and other communication methods are intended parts of play.

What the August voice patch changed

House House released a patch intended to bring quiet microphone setups closer to the intended volume. Reporting on the developer statement says the patch did not increase the distance voices carry and did not add separate voice and background-volume sliders. Update first, but do not use long-range silence as proof that the patch failed.

A useful isolation test

Test the microphone in the operating system, then test Big Walk while standing close to one friend. If the system meter moves but nobody hears you in game, record your platform, selected input device, party-chat state, and whether text chat works. On PS5, continue with the PS5-specific checklist linked below.

Sources checked

Where this answer comes from

Links and claims last checked August 14, 2026. Community sources describe reported symptoms, not guaranteed fixes.