Dead Space 3: How to Play with Friends in Co-op Mode (2022+)

Link to revised 2024 guide: Full tutorial + Instructional Youtube Video

This 2022 edition explains how to join friends who play Dead Space 3 on Steam. The purpose of this guide is to assist troubleshooting issues where friends are unable to join each other online via Steam Friends and EA friends. This tutorial may not be applicable to those who are not present in Steam and/or EA.

Required:
- A Steam account
- An EA account to play DS3 with, with the EA app installed.

Creating an Account/Logging In to your Account

Dead Space 3 is hosted on Steam's platform, and is available to buy from the Steam store.
However, upon opening the game, it'll require your EA account to be registered for co-op gameplay.

If you don't have an EA account, you'll need to create one. There will be a blue box that prompts you to sign in or login.

Onwards, it'll guide you through if you don't have an account or if you forgot your password.

Once you're signed into your EA account, you can choose of whether you want to link it to your Steam account or not. I recommend linking it to your Steam account so the sign-in or forgot password process is easier.

After that, you should come across the EA app's home page. On there, you should see your copy of Dead Space 3. This is why it's required for you to have an EA account first and foremost prior to opening the game.


Without an EA login, you won't be able to access the co-op feature.

Proceed to the next step when completed.

Adding Friends on the EA Desktop App

Before commencing this step, you should have an EA account. This makes finding your friends easier.

Once you're logged into the EA desktop app, navigate to the right sidebar.
The right sidebar should open a little more. Look underneath the section called Friends, and click on the User Icon with a Plus mark.


Assuming that your friends have made an EA account, search for your friends' usernames when it prompts you to find your friends.

Once you and your friend have added each other, open up Dead Space 3 from either EA's Library or Steam Library.

Joining Your Friend's Co-Op Game in Dead Space 3

Before beginning this step:
- You and your friends should have EA accounts
- Added each other
- Both must have a copy of Dead Space 3 for PC (through Steam or EA but eventually, co-op matches are hosted on EA).

You and your friend must open your copies of Dead Space 3.
After the title screen, you both should be on the menu where it asks you to choose a save state.

- If you want to start a new game with your friend, choose an empty slot.
- If you want to continue where you left off, choose the save state that has the place where you last left off.

Keep in mind that the game will not detect which slot that you and your friend had played on. It won't say something like, "You and Friend were last at the Terminal."
You might want to discuss with your friend at how you'll keep track of which save slots to save, and which ones contains your progress, and all that jazz.

Once you both agreed on which save slot to use, continue into main menu where you should see SIngle-Player and Co-op Mode.

Choose Co-op Mode.

Once you've gone into Co-op mode, there are two options you can choose from.
You can choose to Browse Friends' Games (left menu) or choose the Friends' List underneath a section that mentions Quick Match (bottom right).

Eventually, I chose Browse Friends' Games because it was less difficult than the bottom right option. You should choose that one too.

Context: Choosing Friends' List brings up the EA Friends List (similar bringing up Steam Friends with Shift + Tab while playing a game), and that didn't have the option where you can click Invite a Friend.

If no friends are online, you will not see anything in the menu when it brings up the Co-Op Friends' matches. If there is a friend online, you'll see their information.

If you do see friends online, and they have available slots for you to join - Click on the slot to join.
Eventually, you and your friend will be in the same lobby, or you may be able to join them while they're playing.

Now that all steps are completed, you and your friends should be able to play Dead Space 3 together.

2022-2023 Solution: Joining through Public Lobbies

This note has been added as there's been several complaints (including my own) that joining through Steam friends and solely through EA's friending system no longer works.

There has been a couple of times where joining through EA friends is completely rendered useless. For example, I am not able to join a friend through an EA invite as the invite may not show up at all.

Quick Steps:
1. Access Co-Op Campaign within the Main Menu.
2. For those creating a lobby, choose Create Public Lobby.
2.1 For those looking to join friends, search the Public Lobbies (not private lobbies) and wait for your friends' names to appear.
3. Click on your friend's name within the Public Lobbies list and join their game.

Afterword: This solution may not work if EA has made further updates to the game, or there has been a change regarding the Joining Friends procedures.

If anyone happens to find a solution, please share it within the comments! You'll be helping many people (and me) if all of the above steps no longer works.

Previous November 2023 Comment

Public Invites

1. Have each other friended on the EA app.

Context: The EA app should be installed with this game, because this is the only friend system that works. Steam Friends oddly doesn't let you invite/join friends with this game specifically.

2. Open a public lobby as you would. Don't click Quick Match , that option makes you join a very random server.

3. Invite your friend through the EA app. If a random person other than your friend joins the lobby, kick them out until you can confirm that your friend arrived.

Community Solutions: Thank you, guys!

Here's some solutions provided by other users that might help!

Jimmis Atha

RAdmin VPN may be useful for fake LAN connections.
- Works like Hamachi without needing an IP.
- One player must create a network, and the other one joins it.
- The whole connection circuit becomes like a LAN.

Mr. S. Hambles

- Friends are added together on Steam and EA.
- Issue: Not being able to see each other in the friends' game browser.
- Conclusion: Private lobbies do not work anymore as invites through the EA app are now rendered useless.
- Fix: Create a public lobby that your friend can join through.

I can vouch for the Public Lobby joining as my friends have been able to join public lobbies instead of private ones now.

Thank you, community!