In the Stadia menu, you can invite other players to play multiplayer games with you. You can also manage the game invites you receive.
Note: To receive notifications whenever someone invites you to a game, go to your notifications settings in the Stadia app .
Invite a player to a game
- Start the game you'd like to play with another player.
- Open the Stadia menu.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
.
- If you're using a computer keyboard, press Shift + Tab.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
- Select the player you want to invite.
- Scroll through your “Friends” list or “Recently played with” list and select a player.
- Invite the player you've selected to a game:
- Select Invite to game.
- On your Stadia Controller, press
(Chromecast only).
Note: If you invite another player to join a game that doesn't have an online multiplayer mode, the player who tries to join will receive an error message after they accept your invitation.
Invite with a game link
When you're playing a game in a Chrome browser on stadia.com, you can share a link with your friends that will let them join you in the game.
Note: This option is currently unavailable in the Stadia app .
- Start the game you want to play with a friend.
- Open the Stadia menu.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
.
- If you're using a computer keyboard, press Shift + Tab.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
- At the top of the menu, select your Stadia name.
- Select Game invite link
Copy game link.
- On your computer keyboard, hold down the Esc key to exit full screen mode.
- Paste the link where your friends can find it.
- To return to the game, go to the Stadia tab and select Back to game.
Manage game invites you receive
Game invites appear as notifications in the Stadia menu and on your Friends list. You'll only be able to accept invites if you have a mobile device that supports Stadia gameplay.
If you receive a game invite, you can accept or decline it:
- Open the Stadia menu.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
.
- If you're using a computer keyboard, press Shift + Tab.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
- Select Friends
.
- Select the game invite.
- Choose Join or Decline. Until you choose one of these options, the invite will remain in your menu.
Note: If you're currently playing a game and accept an invite from a different game, you will exit your current game.
Manage multiple invites
- Open the Stadia menu.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
.
- If you're using a computer keyboard, press Shift + Tab.
- On your Stadia Controller, press the Stadia button
- Select Friends
Notifications.
- Under "Game invites", select the game you want to manage invites for.
- Choose Join or Decline. Until you choose one of these options, the invite will remain in your menu.
Note: If you're currently playing a game and accept an invite from a different game, you will exit your current game.
Privacy and blocked players
In your Privacy settings, you can choose who can send you invites:
- All players
- Friends
- Friends & their friends
- Private (no one)
If you have trouble receiving game invites, check this setting first.
If you block a player, they won't be able to invite you to games. Blocked players may still appear in games you've been invited to. However, they won’t be able to hear you if you speak in voice chat using a microphone.
Local multiplayer
It's easy to link controllers to Stadia in order to play games that support local multiplayer. These are games you can play with other people in the same room, using the same screen. For more information, learn about playing Stadia: