The PS5 is getting the ability for players to invite each other to sessions through a QR code, Sony says. The feature will be one of a few new ways Sony is planning to enhance the session invite system on PS5. In an official blog post on May 1, Sony explains that in a future update, PS5 players will gain the ability to easily send an invite to other players through a QR code as well as shareable links.
The update will arrive “in the coming months” according to the company. So this is something to look forward to more long-term than a feature that will arrive soon. Multiplayer gaming is a big part of the PlayStation community and there are already a few easy ways to send invites to players or for players to join open sessions. For example, if you see that a friend is playing a particular game, there’s a big “join game” button right on the game’s page from the home screen. Players can also send invites from within a game to other friends who they see online.
This new method, however, should make things even easier and more convenient.
PS5 players can scan a QR code on the console, or invite players with a link on any social platform
If you’re already on your console then scanning a QR code with your phone will be a relatively easy way to join a current play session with friends. But what if you’re not on your console? What if you met someone through a social platform you use and you two agree to play together later on? Sony is making it possible to create sharable links that you can send to other players. You can share these links through your favorite social platforms, Sony says, and people can join your session through those links.
It’s also going to be possible to generate these links from within the PS app as well.
You won’t need to be friends on PSN first
What is likely going to make this more convenient for people is that you don’t have to already be friends with the people you invite via these links. You can launch the PS app and generate a link, then share it on X, Facebook, iMessage, or anywhere else you feel like. You might often talk about games with random users on a social platform you frequent, and these links will make it super easy to join up and play games with people. Sony is also adding a new widget for links that are shared in Discord, where they dynamically refresh so you can tell if a session is still ongoing.
That way you don’t join and everyone has already stopped playing.