There’s nothing quite like stumbling across a perfectly preserved abandoned freighter or a lush, storm-free planet covered in gravitino balls and realizing you want to bring a friend along to share the loot. If you’ve been fumbling through menus trying to figure out how to team up with people you know, you’re not alone. This guide breaks down exactly how to add friends in No Man’s Sky, no matter what platform you play on, plus fixes for the most common errors that pop up when you’re trying to connect.
How to Add Friends in No Man’s Sky Via In-Game Friend List
This is the easiest method if you and your friend are playing on the same platform, or if you already have their Hello Games ID handy. To start, open your main menu and navigate to the Network tab, which you’ll find on the far right side of the menu bar. From there, select “Search for Player” and type in their platform ID or Hello Games username, then send a friend request. You need to have your network settings set to "online" for this to work – if you accidentally set your session to offline, the search function will be grayed out entirely. Once they accept your request, their name will show up in your friend list permanently, and you can join their session with one click any time they’re online. You can also send requests directly to players you run into in public sessions by opening their player profile from the nearby players list, which saves you the trouble of typing out their username later.
Crossplay Friend Adding Workarounds for Mixed Platform Players
One of the best parts of modern No Man’s Sky is that you can play with anyone, no matter if they’re on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch. Adding friends across platforms takes one extra step, but it’s still really simple. Instead of searching for their platform-specific ID, you’ll need to search for their custom Hello Games ID, which they can find in the account section of their main menu. You don't need to link external accounts unless you want to sync save data across platforms – the Hello Games ID works on its own for crossplay friend requests. Some players prefer to share their ID via external messaging apps first to avoid typos, since even one wrong character will pull up the wrong account. If you’re playing on PlayStation, you will need to make sure you’ve enabled crossplay in your PlayStation system settings as well as your in-game settings, otherwise cross-platform friend requests won’t come through.
Troubleshooting Common Friend Adding Issues
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into errors that stop you from adding or connecting with friends. Most of these issues are easy to fix with a few quick checks. Here are the most reliable fixes we’ve tested after hundreds of hours of co-op play:
- Restart your game and platform if your friend’s name doesn’t appear in search results
- Double check that both you and your friend have crossplay enabled in your game settings if playing across different platforms
- Turn off any VPN services that might interfere with the game’s peer-to-peer connection
- Confirm that neither of you have set your multiplayer session to "invite only" if you want to appear in public searches
If you’re still having trouble sending or receiving requests, check your platform’s privacy settings. Parental control settings on your platform can override in-game multiplayer permissions, so if you’re on a family account, you may need to ask the account holder to adjust those settings for you. We’ve also seen cases where server outages during new expedition launches break friend search functionality, so if it’s right after a big update, wait an hour or two and try again later.
What to Do After Adding Your Friend to Play Co-Op
Once your friend request is accepted, you don’t have to limit yourself to just joining their existing session. You can set up custom shared worlds, build bases together, or even take on high-level endgame content as a team that’s way harder to beat alone. You can set a shared base as a permanent spawn point for all friends you add to your access list, so you don’t have to waste time flying across the galaxy to meet up every time you log on. You can also turn on friendly fire if you want to mess around, or leave it off if you’re focused on completing a tricky expedition without accidentally blowing each other up. I’ve added dozens of friends from random public sessions over the years, and some of them are still people I play with regularly – we’ve built entire shared colonies, completed every expedition together, and even had silly build contests where we compete to make the ugliest base possible. It’s a totally different game when you’re playing with other people, so don’t be afraid to send requests to people you meet out in the galaxy.
At the end of the day, half the fun of No Man’s Sky is getting to share all the weird, wonderful things you find with other people. Once you know how to add friends in No Man’s Sky, you’ll open up a whole new layer of the game that makes even the most tedious grinding feel worth it. Don’t stress if you run into connection issues at first – a quick restart or settings check almost always fixes the problem, and you’ll be exploring new planets with your friends in no time.
