Windows 11 · Windows
Add Friends on Steam and Join or Invite Them to a Game
Source-checked About 10 minutes
Answer
Open Friends & Chat in the lower-right of Steam, select the friend-plus icon, then find the exact profile or create a Quick Invite link. After the other person accepts, open the game's multiplayer lobby and use its Invite Friends control when available. Steam does not provide one universal party screen: each game decides whether it supports Steam lobby invitations and what its button is called.
Open the Add a Friend page
Select Friends & Chat in the lower-right of the Steam client, then select the friend-plus icon at the top of the list. Steam opens the friend-management page.
Choose the exact account
Search for the person's Steam Community profile, create a Quick Invite link, or open a profile link they provided and select Add Friend. Check the profile and shared identity details with the person before sending the request because display names are not unique.
Accept the pending request
On the receiving account, open Friends & Chat and select the pending-request icon at the top. Accept the request, then confirm both accounts appear in each other's friends list.
Open the game's multiplayer lobby
Launch the same multiplayer game on both accounts and create or join its lobby through the game's own Multiplayer, Online, or Party screen. Keep both accounts online in Steam so friend-dependent features can work.
Send the game invitation
Use Invite Friends in the lobby or the Steam Overlay invitation dialog if the game provides one, then choose the newly added friend. If no friend-invite control appears, check that game's official multiplayer instructions rather than looking for a universal Steam party menu.
Confirm the correct lobby
Have the friend accept the game invitation and verify that both profiles appear in the same in-game lobby before starting matchmaking. A Steam friendship alone does not prove that the game's party invitation succeeded.
Video walkthrough
If it does not work
- If a limited account cannot send the friend request, have the non-limited account send it instead or exchange a Quick Invite link; limited accounts can still receive requests.
- If the friend appears offline, ask them to open Friends & Chat and choose Online. Valve says Offline signs the account out of Steam Community features that depend on being online.
- If the Steam friendship succeeds but no game invitation arrives, compare the exact game version and its official lobby requirements. Steam cannot supply a generic party workflow for a game that does not implement Steam invitations.
- Share Quick Invite links privately with the intended person rather than posting them publicly. Never enter a Steam password on a page reached through an untrusted chat link.
Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: Windows.
Valve documents Steam's current friend-management path and explains that game lobby invitations exist only when the game implements them.