Tales of the Shire looks like it will be the Lord of the Rings take on Cozy games that fans never knew they wanted. It seems like a good way to take the role of a Hobbit and show off your own hobble and garden.
Hobbits tend to be social creatures that visit each other and eat together, but there’s no guarantee the game will let you play with friends. Luckily, we do know if the Tales of the Shire will allow multiplayer.
Is Tales of the Shire Multiplayer?

Tales of the Shire is not a multiplayer game. In fact, its listings on Steam puts the tag on its single-player gameplay aspect.
This unfortunately means you will not be able to invite your friends for adventures alongside you. Thankfully, if Wētā Workshop, the developer, could add multiplayer features in future updates. It would not be uncommon for games to get these kinds of feathers later.
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Is Tales of the Shire Co-Op?

Tales of the Shire is not co-op. The listing on Steam mentioned above is clear that this is a single-player game, so the developers made it specifically to be played alone.
Since Tales of the Shire is not multiplayer, this means you will not be able to venture through Middle-earth with a friend by your side. Sadly, this means you won’t be as social as a hobbit normally would be in the shire. This can get lonely, but there are still NPCs around to be your friends.
Most other cozy games add multiplayer or co-op at some point so people can play together. This is a fairly big feature for a developer to skip, especially on a well-known brand made by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is likely that this will get added in later, just because it’s such a needed feature.