How to Add Friends on Sea of Thieves: A Complete Guide

Sea of Thieves is built around crew-based adventure — and sailing with friends makes everything better, from splitting treasure to taking on skeleton forts. Whether you're playing on Xbox, PC via Steam, or the Microsoft Store version, the process of adding and grouping with friends has a few different paths depending on your platform and theirs.

Here's exactly how it works.

Understanding How Sea of Thieves Handles Friends

Sea of Thieves uses cross-play by default, meaning Xbox and PC players can crew up together. However, the game doesn't have its own standalone friends list. Instead, it pulls from the platform infrastructure you're already using — Xbox Live (Microsoft account), Steam friends, or a combination of both.

This matters because the method you use to add someone depends entirely on where you're both playing from.

Method 1: Adding Friends via Xbox Live (Microsoft Account)

This is the most universal method and works across Xbox consoles, Xbox app on PC, and the Microsoft Store version of the game.

Steps:

1. Open the Xbox app (on PC) or navigate to the Xbox dashboard (on console)
2. Search for the person's Xbox Gamertag using the search bar
3. Send a friend request through Xbox Live
4. Once they accept, launch Sea of Thieves — they'll appear in your friends list in-game
5. From the main menu or the My Crew section, invite them to your session

Your Sea of Thieves in-game crew menu reflects your Xbox Live friends who are currently online or playing the game, so the connection happens outside the game itself.

Method 2: Adding Friends via Steam

If both you and your friend are playing through Steam, you can use the standard Steam friends system.

Steps:

1. In Steam, click the Friends & Chat option at the bottom of the client
2. Select Add a Friend and search by their Steam username or profile URL
3. Send the request and wait for them to accept
4. Launch Sea of Thieves — Steam friends who also own the game will be visible in the in-game crew panel

⚠️ One important detail: Steam players and Xbox/Microsoft Store players can still play together through cross-play, but the initial friend connection needs to go through a shared platform. If you're on Steam and your friend is on Xbox, you'll need to connect via Xbox Live rather than Steam.

Method 3: Cross-Platform Friend Connections (Steam + Xbox)

This is where it gets slightly more involved. If you're on Steam and your friend is on Xbox (or vice versa), you need to link through Xbox Live — because that's the shared layer both platforms support.

How to connect:

1. The Steam player needs a Microsoft account (free to create)
2. When launching Sea of Thieves via Steam, the game will prompt you to sign into or create a Microsoft account
3. Once linked, the Steam player gets an Xbox Gamertag
4. Both players can now find each other via their Gamertags and send Xbox friend requests
5. After that, in-game invites work normally through the crew panel

This cross-platform linking is a one-time setup, and once it's done, you won't need to repeat it.

Inviting Friends Into Your Session In-Game

Once you've established the friend connection outside the game, the in-game process is straightforward:

1. From the main menu, select My Crew
2. You'll see a crew lobby showing open slots
3. Select an open slot and choose Invite Friend
4. A list of your online friends appears — select the person you want to invite
5. They'll receive a notification and can join your session

🎮 Crew sizes depend on the ship type: Sloop (1–2 players), Brigantine (2–3 players), Galleon (up to 4 players). You can invite friends up to your crew capacity.

Alternatively, if you're already in a session, you can open the pause menu and use the Crew section to manage invites mid-session.

What Affects the Experience: Key Variables

Not every player's situation is identical, and a few factors shape how smooth this process feels:

Privacy settings are a common hidden blocker. If someone isn't receiving your invite, check that their Xbox Live privacy settings allow friend requests from everyone, not just existing friends.

NAT type — particularly on console — can prevent sessions from connecting even when friends are listed correctly. A Moderate or Open NAT is generally needed for reliable multiplayer.

When Playing With Someone New (No Prior Friend Connection)

If you're playing with someone you just met in-game — say, a random crewmate in an open crew session — and want to keep playing with them afterward, you can:

• Check their Gamertag displayed in the in-game crew panel
• Add them as an Xbox Live friend directly through the game interface or the Xbox app after the session

This means even spontaneous friendships made during gameplay can transition into planned future crews.

The Part That Varies

The steps above cover the mechanics reliably — but how seamlessly this all works for you comes down to specifics: which platform you and your friends are each on, whether your Microsoft accounts are properly linked, and how your network and privacy settings are configured. Two players on the same platform with matching settings will be crewing up in minutes. Mixed-platform setups or stricter privacy configurations add a few extra steps that are worth sorting out before you're standing at the dock waiting to sail. 🗺️