How to play online with friends in Star Wars: Squadrons

Star Wars: Squadrons’ multiplayer mode allows you to partake in epic, space combat battles alongside your friends. You can form a party with up to four of your mates, but the only way you can do this is through online co-op as local multiplayer isn’t supported.

Before you jump into your cockpit, you will need to know how to play online with friends. Here is how you can form a party, join an in-progress match, and add cross-play friends to your squad.

How to form a squad

To invite your friends to a game that you are hosting, press Tab on PC, the Touchpad on your PlayStation 4 controller, or the Select button on Xbox One. This brings up the Social menu. Scroll through your Friends list and, when you want to invite someone, choose the “Invite” option next to their username.

Your friends can accept this invitation and join your ranks. Once everyone is present, you can open the Multiplayer menu and select a game mode to participate in.

How to join an in-progress match

This is only possible if a friend is in an unranked Dogfight or Fleet Battles versus AI match. You cannot join in a ranked game that has already begun, or if an unranked match has no available slots for you to join.

To join an unranked match that’s in progress and has available slots, open up the Social menu. Scroll to the friend who is in a game you want to join, and select the “Join Game” option.

To invite a friend to an unranked game you are in, open up the Loadout menu. Scroll to an empty space in your squad, select the Social menu when you click on it, and then invite them.

How to invite cross-play friends

Star Wars: Squadrons has cross-platform support, so you can game with your friends even if they own it on a different system. To add them to your list, you will need to send them a friend request.

The first way you can do this is by playing with people in matches. If you want to add someone you met in a game, select their name in the Scoreboard. Click on “View Profile” and then choose “Add to EA Friends.” They can accept your request from the Social menu by looking at Invitations, and then “Pending Friend Requests.”

To add someone who is not in your match, you will need their EA ID. This identification is the name of their EA Play account, which they should have linked to when playing their first EA game. Open the Social menu, then Invitations, and enter their ID in “Search for EA ID.” This sends them a friend request, which they can accept.