It’s getting way easier to join PS5 multiplayer games with a friend

Sony is working on an easier way for anyone to join your gaming sessions — whether you’re friends on the PlayStation Network or not. The company says that “in the coming months,” you’ll be able to generate a link either on your PS5 or in the PlayStation App that you can share with others so they can join your multiplayer session.

On the PS5, that means popping up a QR code from the game lobby that players will need to scan using a smartphone, while the PlayStation App just creates a link users can copy or share through their phone’s share sheet. In its blog post today, Sony doesn’t say exactly how you get from tapping a link on your phone to playing a multiplayer game on your PS5, but presumably, you would need to have the PlayStation App installed and logged in for it to work. Sony didn’t respond to a request for clarification by press time.

According to the announcement, there will also be a custom live widget for Discord that shows whether the game is still active and how many are in it. The company says that “a small percentage of PS5 games” might need to be updated to make sure the links work properly.

Sony Interactive writes that the feature will be extended to sharing links to your PlayStation Profile, which sounds great for making sure you’re connecting to the person you think you are. That way, when you try to friend “F4RTN0KK3R_092197,” who is good, you won’t accidentally throw your lot in with “F4RTN0KK3R_092179,” who is a baddie that cheats all the time and could get you banned by association.