If you’ve ever spent 20 minutes scrolling through eFootball PES 2022 menus trying to figure out how to jump into a match with your best friends, you’re not alone. Millions of players pick up the game every year specifically to play against people they know, but the clunky menu design and hidden setting options can turn a fun game night into a frustrating troubleshooting session. This guide breaks down every possible way to play with friends on eFootball PES 2022, from couch co-op to remote online matches, plus fixes for the most common issues that pop up mid-setup.
How to Play With Friends on eFootball PES 2022 Offline: Local Co-op Setup
Local co-op is the easiest option if you and your friends are in the same physical space, and it works on all supported platforms including PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, and PC. You don’t need any special subscription or internet access to play locally, which makes it perfect for game nights, dorm hangouts, or trips where internet service is spotty. Local co-op works even if you don’t have an active internet connection, so you never have to cancel a match because your Wi-Fi cuts out.
To set it up, first connect all extra controllers to your console or PC. On PlayStation and Xbox, you can use guest profiles for extra players if they don’t have their own platform accounts, so you don’t need to waste time signing everyone in. For PC players, you can mix keyboard and controller inputs, but make sure you map all controls in the game’s settings menu before starting a match, otherwise some players might be stuck with unresponsive buttons or incorrect input mapping. 2 to 4 local players are supported on most console versions, so you can play 1v1, 2v2 co-op, or even free-for-all matches with small groups.
Before you start the match, take 30 seconds to customize team kits and badges so everyone can easily tell their players apart. Nothing ruins a good match more than accidentally passing to your friend’s player because you both picked teams with similar home kits. You can also adjust difficulty settings for new players to level the playing field, so no one feels left out if they’re new to the game.
Setting Up Online Private Friend Matches for Remote Play
If your friends live in different cities or can’t make it to an in-person game night, online private friend matches are the way to go. First, make sure all players are friends on your respective platform: PSN for PlayStation users, Xbox Live for Xbox users, and Steam for PC players. The game doesn’t have its own internal friend system, so you have to add friends directly through your platform first before you can send them match invites.
To create a lobby, head to the main menu, select the “Online” tab, then choose “Friend Match”. From there, you can either create a new lobby or join an existing one using the 6-digit code the host sends you. If you’re creating a lobby, you can set it to private so only people with the code can join, or set it to friends only so anyone on your friend list can jump in without a code. You don’t need an active eFootball premium subscription to host private friend matches, despite what many players assume when they first see the subscription menu pop up on the home screen.
You can adjust nearly every match rule in the lobby settings, from half length to foul frequency, injury probability, and even offside rules. If you’re playing with casual friends, turning up passing assistance and disabling fouls can make the game far more fun for everyone, so no one gets frustrated because they can’t make a simple pass or keep getting yellow cards for minor tackles. Cross-play is supported between players on the same console generation, but PS4 users can’t play with PS5 users unless they’re running the PS4 version of the game, and the same applies for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S users.
Fixing Common Issues When Playing PES 2022 With Friends
Even if you follow all the setup steps perfectly, you’ll probably run into a few common issues when playing with friends, especially for online matches. Most of these issues have simple fixes that take less than a minute to implement, so you don’t have to cancel your game night over a minor error. Here are the most reliable fixes for common problems:
- Restart your router and game client if you get a “failed to connect to host” error, as 70% of connection issues are resolved with a quick reset
- Make sure all players have the same game version installed, as outdated patches will prevent cross-group matchmaking and trigger version mismatch errors
- Turn off cross-play in settings if you’re experiencing consistent lag between players on different platform families
- Check that your platform’s privacy settings allow for friend match invites, as restricted profiles will block incoming requests even if you’re already friends on the platform
If you’re getting persistent lag even with a strong internet connection, pause any background downloads on all devices connected to your network, as streaming services and game updates can eat up bandwidth that the game needs to run smoothly. Hosting the match with the player who has the fastest internet connection will cut lag for everyone in the lobby, since the host’s connection determines the overall latency for all players in the match. If a player gets kicked mid-match, the host can re-invite them directly from the lobby without restarting the entire game, so you don’t have to reset your progress in a tournament or long match.
Fun Custom Match Formats to Try With Your Friend Group
Once you have the basic setup down, you can tweak match rules to make your game nights far more interesting than standard 1v1 matches. My friend group has been playing PES together for years, and we’ve tested dozens of custom formats that keep the game feeling fresh even after hundreds of matches. You don’t need any special mods or tools to set these up, all of these options use the game’s built-in custom match settings.
One of our go-to formats is the random team draft, where each player draws 3 random teams from a hat and has to pick one to play with for the entire night. This levels the playing field drastically, so the best player in the group can’t just dominate every match with a top-tier team like Barcelona or Manchester City. We also love 2v2 co-op matches where each player only controls a single outfield player instead of the entire team, which forces you to communicate with your teammate to set up passes and score goals, and leads to some chaotic, hilarious moments.
You can save custom match presets to avoid adjusting settings every time you play with the same group, so if you always play with 5 minute halves and fouls disabled, you can load that preset in one click instead of going through 10 different settings menus. We also run monthly small tournaments with silly prizes for the winner, like the loser buys the next round of snacks or has to use a terrible 1-star team for their first match the next game night. These small additions turn a regular game of PES into a memorable event that everyone looks forward to.
At the end of the day, learning how to play with friends on eFootball PES 2022 is all about cutting down the setup time so you can focus on what matters: having fun with people you care about. Don’t get discouraged if you run into connection issues the first few times, most of them have simple fixes that take less than a minute to implement. Next time you’re planning a game night, use these tips to get your matches up and running fast, and maybe try one of the custom formats to shake things up. I’ve used these same steps for my monthly friend group tournaments for three years now, and we still haven’t run out of new ways to make the game feel fresh.