How to Play with Friends in Payday 3

Robbing a bank with friends is always better. Sure, if you run in with a bunch of strangers you’ll feel fewer pangs of guilt as they go down in a storm of bullets all because you couldn’t resist adding a couple more dollars to your haul, but it’s just not the same as when your fellow criminal is your buddy. With Payday 3 on the horizon, and the beta version of the game seemingly giving some players difficulty when it came to adding their friends to a party, we figured a quick explainer on how to put together your all-star crew of thieves and murderers might be necessary. So if you’re looking to learn how to play Payday 3 with your friends, we’ve got you covered.

How to Play Payday 3 With Friends

As one might expect from a co-op shooter like Payday 3, setting up a party of friends is baked into the very essence of the game. Once you’ve loaded into the main menu, press the “O” key if you’re on a keyboard or the “menu” button if a controller is your preferred way to play. This will bring up the social tab with all your friends on your chosen platform appearing as a list on the left side of your screen. To invite someone from this sub-menu, highlight whoever you want as your partner (or partners) in crime and use the “P” key to send off an invite for them to join. On a controller, you’ll want to press the right stick down to send off the invite.

Related: How to Get Better FPS in Payday 3

That’s all there is to it! Yet while that does sound simple enough, some players have expressed frustration with the system due to an error that prevents them from actually forming a party. While this problem was prevalent during Payday 3‘s beta, we’re hoping that Starbreeze Studios will be able to remedy it when the game launches officially on September 21. However, if the issue persists, continue reading below for a quick troubleshooting guide that will hopefully get you and your friends back in the banks.

How to Fix Payday 3’s “Party Not Working” Error

If you’ve been met with the “party not working” error in Payday 3, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there are a few things you can try to get around the issue. The first solution is to just keep trying to add your friends to a party; if you keep bashing your head against the wall, a brick will fall out at some point. This is obviously not the best course of action since it can take ages to work, so if you get tired of this, then I recommend searching for and joining an empty online lobby. Once you’re in, ask your co-conspirators to join you but don’t make a new lobby. This should result in your dastardly peers joining your server with little to no further difficulties.

Of course, the other most obvious solution is to simply restart the game and maybe even your internet. Since the “party not working” problem is an issue with Payday 3‘s servers, this isn’t a guaranteed fix but there’s always a chance that a fresh connection could make the game a little more stable for you and your pals.