Helldivers 2: How to fix the Friends List Not Working error

Helldivers 2 is way more fun with friends, so it can be frustrating if you can’t see them in the game. When Helldivers 2’s Friends List stops working, you’ll be unable to invite friends or even join their sessions.

The Friends List not working error in Helldivers 2 caught me off guard the other day. I jumped right into the game without checking Discord and figured everyone was offline, so I played single-player. During my solo session, I received a phone call from my friends asking where I was. It turned out the whole squad had been online grinding, and I just couldn’t see them due to the Social Tab not working. Since my friends list wasn’t working, I couldn’t join friends in Helldivers 2, and I tried the following fixes to solve this error.

What is the Friends List Not Working bug in Helldivers 2?

The Friend List not working bug in Helldivers 2 usually affects players when the servers experience outages. This error/bug causes players to become unable to invite friends to their party or add them, even resulting in crossplay not working in certain cases.

How to fix the Friends List Not Working bug quickly in Helldivers 2

The best fix for the Friends List not working error in Helldivers 2 is to add your friends via their unique friend code. Johan Pilestedt, the Helldiver 2 creative director, shared this solution on the game’s Discord server.

If you’re playing Helldivers 2 on PC via Steam, you can also take advantage of Steam’s Friends system. When you right-click a friend on Steam, you’ll see an option to invite them or join their session, and using this feature bypasses the unable to join friends error in Helldivers 2.

When you can see your friends list but can’t send friend requests, try changing your name to something less than 16 characters without using special characters. This fix works for Steam players, but you can also try it on consoles.

Alternatively, you may also try waiting out this bug since it seems to mostly happen during prime hours when the player traffic for Helldivers 2 peaks.

Ultimately, this is an error only Arrowhead can fix for good. This error will likely disappear when Helldivers 2 gets more servers or with a hotfix. Players who manually fix their friends list may also get the Failed to Join Lobby error. If that’s the case, try restarting Helldivers 2 and re-adding your friends via their code.