Guide
Can you play Bodycam with friends? How to play together in v0.8 (and the "Incompatible party size" error)
Yes, but not through party matchmaking yet. How to play Bodycam with friends right now, why you get "Incompatible party size", Wingman with a friend, and when the party system returns.
Short answer: yes, you can play Bodycam with friends, but not by queuing together in matchmaking. Locked & Loaded (v0.8) shipped without a party system, so the way to play together right now is a custom match. Everything below is up to date as of September 27, 2026.
How to play with friends: custom match (recommended)
- One of you hosts and invites the others to their lobby.
- On the tablet, open the Custom tab and create a custom match.
- Pick a mode and map and play together (you can fill with bots).
Since patch v0.8 #3, private matches award Reissad Points again, at 50% of the normal rate. It's no longer wasted time for your progression.
How to join or invite a friend (lobby and shooting range)
The easiest way is through Steam: open the overlay (Shift+Tab), go to Friends, right-click your friend and choose Invite to game, or Join game if they're already playing. Once in the same lobby you can use the shooting range together and start a custom match. This is the standard Steam method; menus inside the game may vary between updates.
Another way: join the same server separately
From the server browser, find the same match and join individually. It works in public modes with open slots, but you won't necessarily land on the same team. Also, Wingman matches can't be joined once they're in progress.
"Incompatible party size": what it means
If you try to queue as a group, you may get the "Incompatible party size" error. Players reported it on the Steam forums from the first days of v0.8. It isn't a bug on your end: matchmaking only accepts one player at a time while the party system is disabled. There's no fix other than playing in a custom match or queuing separately.
Can you play Wingman with a friend?
Not in matchmaking yet. Wingman 2v2 is solo queue only "for technical reasons", even though its tagline invites you to bring your most trusted teammate. To play a 2v2 with your friend, create a custom match in Wingman mode. Duo queue will most likely return with the new party system.
What you can't do yet
- Group Quick Play: solo only.
- Wingman 2v2 with your partner: duo queue has been disabled "for technical reasons" since launch.
When is the party system coming back?
Latest news (September 25): in patch v0.8 #6 Reissad said the party system "isn't ready yet, but it's going well", and that it will first ship on a Steam experimental branch for players to stress test.
In patch v0.8 #5, the studio said it's the top priority, but not a simple switch. Parties are being rebuilt on a new connectivity layer that also affects the anti-cheat. There's no official date.
The new system will let you:
- Invite friends to your group.
- Queue together in every mode.
- Join ongoing matches from the server browser.
Nobody to play with?
Post in the forum's Find a squad community with your region, schedule and mode, or find people already looking. Until parties return, it's the fastest way to put together a group for a custom match.