What Happened to the PlayStation Party Feature?

[The_DoctorsWife]

Story time: I have a set of headphones that can both be plugged into the controller and connect via bluetooth (got surround sound, all the bells and whistles, etc). The mute button for the built-in microphone doesn't work when it's plugged into the controller, it only works via bluetooth USB (which I have misplaced and can't find at the moment).

I wear the headphones when playing games like Battlefield for strategic reasons. When not in a party, everyone in the squad can hear my audio, so I usually create a party so people won't be bothered when I talk to myself.

But now when I create a party, it makes me invite friends before I can create one? Wth? I don't want to be bothering friends with invites whenever I need to create a Party. When did this happen?

More importantly... is there a workaround?