Marvel’s Avengers is available now across several platforms, and there are a few hoops you have to jump through to play with your friends in multiplayer. Not every mode is compatible with multiplayer, however, but there are ways to immediately start playing with friends right off the bat. Doing so risks spoiling the singleplayer campaign for yourself, but these spoilers are very minor and should not impact your enjoyment of the story too much. There are several different mission types to run in Marvel’s Avengers, and the majority of them support multiplayer. If you don’t have a full team of four to play with, you can enable AI teammates to fill in the gaps in your squad.
How to Play Avengers with Friends
To play with your friends in Marvel’s Avengers, you must select a multiplayer compatible mission. A few of these are unlocked in the campaign, but you can jump straight into multiplayer by selecting Avengers Initiative at the main menu. Avengers Initiative takes place after the campaign, so there are some spoilers for the story. These are very light spoilers, however, so you won’t be risking too much by jumping in with your friends right off the bat. All factions, vendors, and playable heroes will be unlocked immediately in the Avengers Initiative.
Every mission in Marvel’s Avengers, outside of story missions, can be played in multiplayer. War Zones, Drop Zones, Villain Sectors, and more are all multiplayer compatible, and you can access these on the War Table map aboard the Chimera. Select any mission and you’ll be able to invite your friends by pressing the empty boxes below your name on the matchmaking screen. You can also invite friends before choosing a mission by opening your menu and navigating to the Social tab. From there, select any of the open slots and invite your friends to form a strike team, which is the Avengers version of a party.
How to Unlock Multiplayer in Avengers
To unlock multiplayer in Marvel’s Avengers, you must progress through the story and unlock the War Table map. You can also jump into the Avengers Initiative mode, where multiplayer is unlocked by default. In the campaign, you’ll reach the Chimera with Kamala and Hulk early on. Here, you’ll activate the War Table and begin your first co-op mission, an expedition to the Snowy Tundra region. Starting with this mission, you’ll be able to invite friends and play War Zones and other multiplayer missions with friends.
To play multiplayer in the Avengers Initiative, you must first complete the tutorial. You’ll find yourself aboard the Helicarrier as Iron Man. From there, you’ll need to complete the HARM Room tutorial and activate the War Table map in order to unlock multiplayer. This is the same process as the campaign, except Avengers Initiative lets you start playing online right from the get-go.
Can You Have Duplicate Heroes in Marvel’s Avengers?
You cannot have duplicate heroes in Marvel’s Avengers. Each player must select a different hero from everyone else. You cannot have two people playing as Iron Man, for example.
Avengers Matchmaking Not Working
If you don’t have enough friends to fill your squad, you can use matchmaking to get other players to support you on your missions. The same restrictions apply, you still can’t have duplicate heroes, for example, but you can have actual players help you out instead of AI companions. To do this, select a mission and then and press Square/X to enable matchmaking. You can also turn on AI companions in the hero roster menu. Matchmaking is not working for a lot of Marvel’s Avengers players though, but there are a few things you can try to fix it.
Sometimes, you’ll get a Failed to Join Session error when trying to matchmake in Avengers. To fix the Failed to Join Session error, disable matchmaking. Then, select the mission you want to play and re-enable matchmaking. This has fixed the issue for some players, but others are still facing the problem. If this fix doesn’t work for you, then playing solo with AI companions is your best bet until a patch is released.
Does Avengers Have Crossplay?
Marvel’s Avengers does not support crossplay. Speaking to Shacknews, Marvel’s Avengers Creative Director Shaun Escayg shared some details about the plan for cross-platform multiplayer with Avengers. “We love the idea of cross-platform play,” Escayg told Shacknews. “It’s not something that we are currently doing. Our launch is going to be as it is. We are doing cross-generational play. PS4 players will play with PS5 players, because we do have an upgrade pass. Jumping in day one on PS4, when you upgrade to your PS5, same with your Xbox One to your Xbox X, the idea that you can take your saved game and your progression with you. But we want to at least have within that ecosystem, PS4 to PS5 can connect for co-op and Xbox One to Xbox X can connect for co-op. Cross-generational, yes. Cross-platform, not at this time.” Cross-generation multiplayer between current and next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X is the primary focus for Crystal Dynamics at the moment.
Does Avengers Have Split-Screen Multiplayer?
Marvel’s Avengers does not support local multiplayer, split-screen, or couch co-op. The only way to play with your friends is online.
Avengers Multiplayer Not Working
Marvel’s Avengers has a few multiplayer and matchmaking issues that are preventing players from joining their friends or playing online with others. There aren’t any concrete fixes at the moment, but there are some tricks you can try. If you’re having matchmaking issues, try disabling matchmaking, selecting a mission, and then turning matchmaking back on. Some people have reported that this fixed their Avengers matchmaking issues, but others haven’t had any luck with this strategy. You should also check if your NAT type is set to Strict, which can inhibit your ability to play online according to Square Enix.
- On Xbox One, if your NAT type is set to STRICTor MODERATE, you may run into issues with matchmaking and connecting. For more information on seeing and changing your NAT type, head here: https://support.xbox.com/help/Hardware-Network/connect-network/xbox-one-nat-error
- Players on PS4 may also run into matchmaking issues due to NAT type. Please head here for more information: https://support.playstation.com/s/article/Troubleshoot-Wired-or-Wireless-Network-Connection
If none of these fixes solve your multiplayer problems, then you’ll just have to wait for a patch to be released.
