Do you need the 'All You Can Eat' version to play Overcooked 2 with friends?

General
1

I’m facing issues trying to start a private game in Overcooked 2 with my cousin. Both of us have the standard version on Steam, but we cannot set up a friends-only game.

Every time I attempt to send him an invite or join his match, we encounter a message indicating that the session is not accessible. The only way we can play together is through the matchmaking system, which always adds us to a game with two random players. This complicates our learning experience, as those players tend to be far more skilled than us.

I’ve done some research and discovered that many people mention needing ‘Overcooked All You Can Eat’ for certain multiplayer functionalities. I initially believed this was just for cross-platform gameplay, but since we’re both on Steam, I’m wondering if it’s actually necessary.

Is there a method to invite friends using the standard version of Overcooked 2, or must we upgrade to the ‘All You Can Eat’ edition to play private co-op sessions?

2

You shouldn’t need the ‘All You Can Eat’ version for local co-op. Check your settings or maybe reinstall it.

3

Yeah, you can definitely play private games with just the standard version of Overcooked 2. Sounds like a connection or settings problem. Make sure you’re Steam friends first, then one person creates the game and the other joins through the overlay or friends list. Still not working? Check your firewall settings - they might be blocking the connection.

4

Sounds like a Steam networking issue, not an All You Can Eat problem. Had the same thing happen - switching to a different server region in Steam settings fixed it for us.

5

Try verifying game files through Steam properties - that’s fixed similar issues for me before.

6

Same thing happened to me when I started. Have your cousin make the lobby while you’re both online, then see if his game pops up in your Steam overlay. If that doesn’t work, try restarting Steam - usually fixes invite issues.

7

Same thing happened with my brother. We fixed it by checking we were in the same Steam region and both showing as online - not away or invisible. Make sure family sharing restrictions aren’t on and you’re not in offline mode. Regular Overcooked 2 definitely lets you play private games with friends - you don’t need All You Can Eat.