How to invite friends in Splatoon 3

One of the many fun things about the Splatoon series is the option to team up with a bunch of friends, and Splatoon 3 continues this tradition. Though the entire game is not yet available for players to purchase, the first Splatfest of the game has been dropped, and it gives players a taste of what's to come.

Given the sizable hype surrounding the game, Nintendo fans around the world are downloading it to give it a chance. This large playerbase has led to many players indulging in the experience both as a single player and as a group. However, not everyone may know how to squad up for a few rounds.

This could be a total downer for groups looking to play a new game with their friends online. Luckily, the way players can contact other friends to invite them to their squad is much easier than many would initially think. So how can players send Splatoon 3 squad invitations to their Nintendo Switch Online friends?

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Joining a party in Splatoon 3: Sending invites and the benefits of squading up

Players can join a party in Splatoon 3 (Image via Nintendo)

The previous entries in the series made inviting friends to games much more complicated. Players were often required to solo queue if they wanted to play public matches, since the only way to play with friends in Splatoon 2 and 1 was to play in League matches that required four players. This was much more difficult to coordinate.

Luckily, this has been made much easier in Splatoon 3, as players from any small group can party together for any public match. Though the only matches that players can participate in are regular game modes for Splatfest, this change will most likely be implemented for Salmon Run and Ranked games as well.

Players will be given the option to invite friends to their game through the Training Room. This is the room players will find themselves in before they queue up for a match. However, players will notice that other avatars of players from their friends list begin to appear in the Training Room if the friend is online.

Players can send invites to others by interacting with these other avatars in the Training Room. However, they should keep in mind that this does not add them to a private team like it would in any other video game. Rather, Splatoon 3 only adds players who queue together into the pool for the lobby as a whole.

This means that players are not always guaranteed to be on the same team as their friends. How Nintendo has chosen to implement the long-awaited team queue feels a bit like a monkey's paw wish. Players can play the game with their friends, but there is a sizable chance that they will have to play against them.

While Nintendo's choice for how team queuing works in Splatoon 3 sounds rather counterintuitive, this is a step in the right direction for fans of the franchise. Players should be hopeful that the option to queue up with friends will remain present for other modes like Salmon Run and that the feature will work normally for Ranked.