Socializing is hard, especially when you’re paranoid about how the person you initiate a friendship with will react. The approach of hitting the “add friend” button on random lobby players and inviting them to your party doesn’t work, for the most part.
The only way to skip all the awkwardness is by finding someone who is on the same page as you—looking for a gaming buddy. It is not too tough, provided that you are hunting for them in the right place.
Here is the list of the 6 best places you should look into to create your own squad.
6 Best Ways to Find Gaming Friends Online
#1. Reddit
The self-professed front page of the internet, Reddit, is one of the best social sites to hang around as a gamer. Reddit is a mix of social media and internet forums.
Unlike other social media the concept of friends, followers, and likes, doesn’t hold much importance on Reddit. Just a random username, that could be anything, will suffice. You post on subreddits—like groups and communities on Facebook and other sites—and there is one for everything. As for where people looking for gaming friends hang around, multiple subreddits!
One of the biggest is r/GamersPal. Before posting, make sure to follow all the rules mentioned and you’re good to go. If you find yourself shy about posting, just scroll through and see if someone is looking for something similar to you, and send them a message by clicking on their profile.
You can further narrow down your search to individual game subreddits. Such as r/Fireteams for Destiny 2, r/R6STeams for Rainbow Six Siege, or r/WarzoneLFG for Call of Duty: Warzone. Some official subreddits, non-related to finding teams, do allow such posts but make sure to check the menu towards your left that has rules laid out.
#2. Discord
Discord is one of the largest gaming messaging apps. There are plenty of servers, from LFG servers to general chat and official ones.
Most people on Reddit are also on Discord, and so are the many subreddits. It’s likely that the same Reddit friends group also has a Discord community. Head to the Sidebar/About tab and there may be an official Discord for the subreddit linked.
Other related servers like Lounge and Looking For Gamers are your best bet. Both of them are active and you’ll find someone online every time.
In case you’re looking for a more specific one, you can search on Google. Type LFG or matchmake and add the game name at the prefix, like, “Overwatch LFG Server Discord” and click on the topmost link to become a member. Before joining, Discord will show you the total number of members and how many are online, which is a good way of checking if the community is spam.
#3. GamerLink
GamerLink is an app for mobile phones that is dedicated to finding friends to play games with.
The UI is super clean with a neat design that sports simple color shades with an all black look, akin to Discord. It is easy to navigate and should guide you through the majority at first. There is also a chat function, so you can plan where you’re dropping next.
To find fellow gamers, you select the platform and games, and make a post. Currently, GamerLink supports up to 300 games, and all platforms are available to filter. A full-fledged profile feature is also available, and you can write a line or two about yourself.
Unfortunately, GamerLink is only available for mobile devices, both Android and iOS. No PC version has been made available yet.
#4. GamerTree
This one is more similar to Reddit than anything else. GamerTree is also available for PC, that’s a plus for PC players.
GamerTree is basically a social media app that is designed to help you find friends. Most of the stuff, adding friends, making a post, texting, and everything else, is fairly easy. The search feature allows you to filter based on skill level and other parameters, which is handy.
Dedicated pages for games are also available on GamerTree. Nothing else to add really, just give it a go and see if you find someone.
#5. Guilded
Guilded is Discord 2.0 developed by Roblox Corporation. Whatever we said about Discord, the same applies to Guilded.
While there are some differences, it will all come down to preference.
Guilded gives you everything for free, while Discord locks certain features behind a paywall of Discord Nitro, which is $5 a month.
The only possible downside for Guilded is being dwarfed in terms of popularity. I mean, have you ever had someone ask you to join Guilded and not Discord for gaming? Or popular games having official Guilded servers in marketing? The upside of being less popular is, relatively, less toxic encounters.
Regardless, the app is enough to help you find good people, and that is what you are looking for, right? In case you are bored of Discord and everything sounds a little mundane, you can spice it up a bit and try Guilded for a change.
#6. In-game clans/LFG
This is 2022, and, surprisingly, most multiplayer squad-centric games do not have a detailed clan or player search system.
Luckily, some games have some decent filters and you can join squads that fit your requirements. Active players that play a lot shouldn’t have a hard time finding one. Make sure to join your regional clan, or one that suits your timezone, so you always find someone online.
Check whether the game you want to co-op with someone has the feature. If you have good chemistry and make a good team, you can play something else together too, and that is how you make forever friends.
Another in-built feature you can try, though there is a high chance of failure, is using the recommended players feature available on most platforms, PlayStation does this with “Players you may know”. The algorithm is suggesting someone who has similar gaming habits, or mutual friends, you can click on add friend and send a polite message:
“Hi, I was looking for someone to team up with on Warzone, wonder if you’re up for it?”
Of course, first make sure they play the said game and see when was the last time.
Same method of politely asking works best on the random teammate you just played with but can be a hit or miss. Be warned about “Alright, we’ll play tomorrow because tonight I’ll be busy fucking your mom” type jokes.
Other sites
Last hope is to try the only remaining social sites that you’re familiar and comfortable with.
Facebook has plenty of groups on games, all you have to do is search and make a post. Since Facebook is largely filled with real people there is less chance for spam, and by viewing profiles you can somewhat guess whether the person is what you’re looking for in a gaming buddy.
Beyond all the apps and sites mentioned, there are a few others you should look into.
We hope these will help you find your next best friend. Once you have one and are looking to play new games, here is the list of multiplayer games that you can play together and have fun.
