Space Marine 2 multiplayer isn’t available right off the bat, and you need to complete a chunky tutorial mission to unlock online co-op. Once Titus has made it to Battle Barge Resilient, you’re not far off being able to invite friends to join your squad, letting you dive into the campaign with player-controlled battle-brothers, or play Operations with special classes of Astartes. Here’s what you need to know about unlocking multiplayer in Space Marine 2 and inviting friends to your squad.
Recent updates
September 6: Space Marine 2 is having a few issues with online play and multiplayer, with lots of players unable to join or stuck on loading screens, so I’ve added a section at the bottom explaining some potential fixes!
How to unlock co-op and PVP in Space Marine 2
To gain access to online multiplayer features in Space Marine 2, start a new game, complete the introductory tutorial mission, then report to Captain Acheran. After receiving your first mission briefing from the captain, letting you drop onto Kadaku to complete the “Skyfire” mission, you will unlock online play and can invite other players to your squad, join others, or matchmake in Eternal War PVP.
The intro mission you need to complete isn’t especially brief, and if you want to get into multiplayer action quickly, you can skip it by pausing and choosing the “Skip Intro” option. Although, I do not recommend doing this if you’ve just started playing as learning the ropes of ranged and melee combat is not especially straightforward.
To fill out your Astartes fireteam of three, follow the “Edit Squad” button prompt in the top-right corner of your screen. From here, you can either invite players up to two other players using randomly generated invite codes, which is necessary for Space Marine 2 crossplay, or you can invite friends using your platform’s friend system. Once your squad has been assembled, you can pick your mode via the Battle Map terminal on the Battle Barge and get to crushing the foes of the Imperium.
Space Marine 2 server issues, multiplayer not working, and possible fixes
We are aware of the technical issues you're encountering on #SpaceMarine2 and are sorry for the inconvenience. 🙏 Our teams are currently working to fix them. Please keep providing feedback and make sure your read this note on the most common issues: https://t.co/ueyOCA9ixs 📝 pic.twitter.com/lIwzEwRvZrSeptember 5, 2024
Players are experiencing some Space Marine 2 server issues, preventing some from joining friends or matches while others are stuck on “joining server” during black screens. Publisher Focus Entertainment has acknowledged the technical issues and says that teams are working on fixes. It has also said that PS5 players are suffering especially with connectivity issues and this is being investigated for a fix.
There’s no doubt that some of these issues are a result of a busy early access period straining the servers, so they should subside over time, but launch day on September 9 may see things get worse, so set your expectations accordingly. For now, If you’re having issues with crashes, infinite loading screens, and not being able to join friends, bear these solutions in mind as they might help you:
- On PC, make sure your GPU drivers and Windows are up to date
- Restart your console
- Be patient: Space Marine 2’s loading screens are just very long sometimes, with the progress bar staying at zero for a while before jumping up. It may be that you just need to wait a little longer before you load in.
- Turn off crossplay: According to some reddit users, turning off crossplay at the game’s start menu can help with speeding up loading screens and getting stuck joining a server, though this doesn’t appear to work for everyone.
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