How to unlock multiplayer in Space Marine 2
Space Marine 2 can be played entirely with other players, but online multiplayer isn’t available at the start
You can’t play Space Marine 2 multiplayer as soon as you start the game as you need to complete a chunky tutorial mission to unlock online play first. Although, once Titus has made it onto Battle Barge Resilient, you’ll soon be able to invite your friends to join your squad in Space Marine 2, letting you dive into the campaign with player-controlled Gadriel and Chairon, play Operations, or battle heretics in PVP. Here’s what you need to know about unlocking multiplayer in Space Marine 2 and inviting friends to your squad.
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 other players, or matchmake in Eternal War PVP and Space Marine 2 Operations.
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, but our Space Marine 2 tips can certainly help.
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 multiplayer not working, server issues, and fixes
If you’re having issues with crashes, infinite loading screens, and not being able to join friends when trying to play Space Marine 2 multiplayer, bear these potential solutions and answers in mind as they might help you:
- Check if the game is down for maintenance. The Focus Entertainment Twitter account is one good place to check for updates regarding the game’s status and any maintenance.
- Make sure your game is up to date
- 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.
- Turn off crossplay: According to some Reddit users, turning off crossplay via the game’s start menu can help with shortening long loading screens and getting stuck joining a server, though this doesn’t appear to work for everyone.
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Will Sawyer is a guides writer at GamesRadar+ who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.