We've refreshed this listing a few times over the years, just now feels like a peculiarly appropriate time to do so. Nosotros could all use a mode to hang out with friends correct now, correct? Co-op games accept long been a way for people to "meet" friends from afar, and that's doubly of import at the moment. If you're looking for a way to spend time with your loved ones digitally, what amend manner than robbing trains or shooting aliens or whatever?
Inside, you'll find over a dozen co-op PC games that are meliorate with friends. Much better. Certain, yous could play some of them alone. Sure, you could (if you're masochistic) play some of them with random internet strangers. Simply round up a partner or three and play these games the way they're meant to be played. I mean, nosotros could all use a break from video calls, yeah?
Editor's annotation: This article is updated periodically to refresh the list of games.
Autumn Guys
Epitome by Mediatonic
Fall Guys, the feel-expert hitting of summer 2020, is like a battle royale, Mario Party, and the one-time 'Wipeout' game show all mixed into one. It's an absolute boom.
You control 1 of the titular Autumn Guys—a hooting, hollering, ludicrously clad jelly bean—confronting 59 others through a gauntlet of randomized over-the-top challenges, with each phase lasting mere minutes. Every circular, a bunch of competitors get the kick. In the terminate, in that location can be only one champion (literally) seizing the crown. But information technology doesn't really matter if you lose, because the game'southward so fast and fun that you can exist back in another "show" in minutes, and even your worst rounds earn yous currency towards buying new outfits. The whole game's similar a dopamine shot injected right into the base of your brain.
It's dandy. But you know what'due south even meliorate? Teaming up with some buds and playing through the courses together. The simply thing more than fun than playing Fall Guys might be cheering on your pals when y'all're spectating them after yous terminate your own run. If simply it supported split screen.
Remnant: From the Ashes
Image by Gunfire Games
I did not await the Darksiders developers to return with…a co-op shooter with vague Dark Souls influences. They did though, and the bigger surprise? Information technology'due south cracking.
With the usual bonfire and souls stand-ins, Remnant: From the Ashes doesn't carp hiding its inspirations. It's impressive developer Gunfire managed to keep that Souls feel with shooter-heavy combat though, dodge-rolling and and then popping upwardly to nail the perfect headshot. And unlike most Souls-inspired games, Gunfire understands that the appeal lies just as much in secrets as it does in fighting. Much of Remnant: From the Ashes is randomized on starting the campaign, leading to a unique experience for each histrion.
Playing co-op isn't just a way to have fun with friends. It's essential to see more than of what Remnant has to offer. And the game'sSubject field 2923DLC unlocks even more than adventures with new zones and story.
Gears 5
Image by Microsoft
Gears of War has been a co-op mainstay since its first installment. I even so recall sitting on a couch with a friend battling dorsum the Locust invasion. The good news is, you can notwithstanding exercise that. Not but does Gears 5 support co-op on PC, information technology fifty-fifty supports splitscreen co-op, a truthful rarity. It's express to the campaign only, just still, pretty cool.
Outside of the campaign, you lot can besides play the standard Horde mode in co-op, battling back waves of enemies and trying for higher scores. The utilize of hero characters with unique abilities kept this manner fresher than the past few entries, though if yous've played a Horde mode in any game before…well, it's that.
Still, the campaign makes for a solid few nights with friends and Horde mode can extend that feel longer. And best of all, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5 are all bachelor on Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Paradigm by Microsoft
Halo is some other co-op mainstay, fifty-fifty more so than Gears. I have fond memories of a summertime spent finishing the original Halo'south Legendary co-op campaign one painstaking level at a time. At present those games are slowly making their manner to PC, with the original Halo and Halo Reach the offset to arrive.
At that place's no splitscreen back up unfortunately, but yous can still play through both campaigns in co-op. The original Halo supports 2-player co-op, while Reach allows you to form a four-person group to fend off the Covenant. And similar Gears, The Master Chief Collection is on Xbox Game Pass for PC—though you tin can also selection it upwards from Steam, if you adopt.
Red Dead Online
Image by Rockstar
Ruby-red Dead Redemption 2's online mode hasn't taken off similar Thousand Theft Auto V's. Non yet, anyway. Still, I love rootin' and tootin' with friends, and Red Dead Online is the best style to do that.
The monetization can be (more than than) a chip intrusive, requiring you lot to grind or fork over real-world greenbacks to admission the virtually interesting content. Want to be a bootlegger? Or a bounty hunter? It'due south going to cost you. Hopefully some of the walls autumn down every bit Rockstar adds new activities though. Don't forget, it took GTAV a few years to fill out its online mode equally well.
And in the meantime? Information technology's a joy having an excuse to spend more time in Crimson Dead Redemption 2'south world, riding around the countryside with your ain Wild Bunch and being "outside." More than now than always.
Rocket League
Prototype by Rocket League
Several years in, I don't become to play Rocket Leaguenearly as often as I'd like anymore. It'due south still rolling right forth though, nonetheless getting patches and new cars so on. Best of all: It's still fun as hell. Psyonix'southward "Soccer with Cars" time to come-sport feels bang-up, from the snappy controls to the flame trails when you boost upward the walls to the way the goals explode whenever yous score.
And the community'south pretty friendly too! I don't know if information technology's considering about communication is still handled through pre-fabricated chat lines or if Rocket League only attracted a happy-go-lucky crowd, but the game's managed to avoid most of the toxicity that plagues other multiplayer games. With friends, Rocket League is excellent. Merely even sans-friends information technology'south, well, still excellent.
The Division two
Image by Ubisoft
It's a weird time to play a game nigh a pandemic causing the collapse of mod guild. Mayhap that'south what you need though? Face your fears, and all that? And in that case, The Division 2 is probably worth a look.
Set up in a mail-apocalyptic Washington D.C., you play the role of a Division agent trying to reestablish culture in the middle of the United States upper-case letter. Without a doubt, the appeal lies largely in Ubisoft's ability to recreate real world D.C., and peculiarly the various monuments and museums that populate it. Fighting through the Air & Space Museum is a real thrill. That said, it'south also a mechanically tight shooter that plays a hell of a lot better than its predecessor.
And when you're tired of D.C., the new Warlords of New York expansion allows you to escape back to Lower Manhattan for a few hours—with more to come. If you're looking for a game to sink hundreds of hours into, it's hard to practise ameliorate than The Partition ii.
Man of Medan
Prototype past Supermassive Games
Human being of Medan has 1 of the most creative co-op modes I've ever experienced. From Supermassive Games, the developer of Until Dawn, Homo of Medan is a horror-adventure that plays a bit like an interactive movie. Ghost transport, wisecracking teenagers, you know the blazon.
The singleplayer feel is well-nigh staying alive, making the right choices at the right fourth dimension to continue your entire crew intact. Just the online co-op feel is an entirely unlike beast. There, each actor takes on different characters—at the same time. One player might see an explosion and know exactly what caused it. The other, seeing the explosion from underwater, needs to decide whether to risk contracting the bends to save their (potentially) endangered partner or not.
It's a fascinating fashion to tell a story, and I hope Supermassive expands on this mode for Human of Medan's pseudo-sequel, Little Hope, when it arrives later this year.
Dota two and League of Legends
Prototype by Valve
Sure, you lot could play either of these gratuitous MOBAs with a grouping of random strangers. You too could necktie raw steak to your body and run through a grizzly carry's cage. In a world full of toxic video game communities and "haha your mom" teenagers, Dota 2 and League of Legends are somehow notorious for being fifty-fifty worse (though nevertheless a blast to play).
Both games have done their best to clean upwards their act in recent years, but if you're the worst team member in a game that relies on precise teamwork to win, you're going to have a bad time. Better bring a few friends along for the ride and so they can tease you mercilessly when you lose.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Paradigm by Larian
For years we had the isometric CRPGDivinity: Original Sin on this list. While you could playOriginal Sinon your own and feel the story in peace, it was too possible to join up with another player, each person controlling one-half the party and either cooperating or—more often—competing to exist the almost heroic of heroes.
SequelDivinity: Original Sin 2 is basically "All of that, but more." It'due south a longer game, with a better story and a ton of memorable characters and quests—hands one of the all-time isometric CRPGs of all fourth dimension, upward in that location withPlanescape: Torment andBaldur'due south Gate 2. Well-nigh important for our purposes? You can now play in4-person co-op. That'southward right, your entire party can be comprised of other humans, all doing their own affair and generally wreaking havoc. And trust me, theywill wreak havoc.
Monster Hunter World
Image past Capcom
Monster Hunter World is an acquired gustation, to say the least. That said, the best manner to acquire the taste is to have a friend talk you through all of its more complicated systems, so that when yous do eventually end up on your ain y'all have half an thought what yous're supposed to be doing. Tracking, learning to deal with the camera, learning to comprehend the tiresome and impuissant controls—all of it can be done, but it's easier with a buddy along.
Capcom's made it a pain in the ass to actually play with friends, and the servers aren't well-nigh every bit reliable as they should be, but when you become into the Monster Hunter groove information technology tin be incredibly addictive. Pick this one upward if you're patient.
Telephone call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone
Image past Activision
No, this isn't a recommendation of Telephone call of Duty: Modern Warfare's terrible Spec Ops mode. Don't bother. I had high hopes the 2019 iteration would resemble the bright Spec Ops mode from 2009'south Modern Warfare 2, but…nope. Just an awful Horde fashion spinoff.
That said, Modern Warfare is absolutely the best Phone call of Duty we've had in years. The "Gunfight" mode is peculiarly inspired, a two-on-two multiplayer mode that makes for some incredibly tense hunt-and-be-hunted battles. It'south equally much a mental puzzle as information technology is a test of reflexes. And we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the new Warzone style—which is also free-to-play if you don't own Modernistic Warfare. The second time Call of Duty'southward tackled the battle royale genre, it'south one of the virtually polished and streamlined versions of those ideas, and well worth grabbing two friends to help drag y'all to victory.
PlayerUnknown'southward Battlegrounds
Prototype past PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown'south Battlegrounds certain has fallen in our esteem since last time we visited this listing. What was one time the undisputed ruler of the battle royale genre is…well, notwithstanding doing fine. Plenty of people play information technology! And the improver of the snowfall-capped map Vikendi was met with pretty positive give-and-take of rima oris, from what I saw.
That said, in that location's a lot less of that word of mouth around Battlegrounds than there used to be. 2018 was a pretty bad year for PUBG, with a failed lawsuit against Ballsy every bit well as a rash of cheaters and bugs and so bad the developers actually launched a "Fix PUBG" entrada, trying to reply to the increasingly desperate pleas of players. It worked, and PUBG is in a better place now than perhaps any fourth dimension since Early Access, but in that location's a lot more competition now. Bang-up competition, too.
PUBG is a great battle royale-manner game to play alone confronting 99 other people, but the added chaos of playing with friends—that unpredictable element that comes from introducing others to your carefully laid schemes—makes it all the more entertaining.
Fortnite: Boxing Royale
Image by Epic
And the most notorious of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds competitors is, of course, Fortnite.
Fortnite proper, a horde-mode-slash-builder that's way besides complicated for its own skilful, didn't really make much of a splash on release. But at this point information technology's safety to say Fortnite is synonymous with its battle royale style, a PUBG clone that too folded in the bones of Fortnite's building organisation—and for free. Of a sudden all the people who didn't want to pony up $30 for PUBG had a game of their ain.
Listen: Information technology's the biggest game in the world. Literally. Fortnite has an astronomical number of players, and propelled Twitch streamer Ninja to "Appeared in a Super Bowl commercial" levels of fame. Information technology'south a global phenomenon. And credit to Epic, it'south also a damn good version of the battle royale formula. The building aspect adds a lot, as does Epic's willingness to experiment with new ideas (like airplanes) on a per-season basis. Games-every bit-a-Service is often a dirty term, but Ballsy shows how information technology tin can be done right.
Image past Respawn
Another battle royale game with a massive audience, Apex Legends surprise-released in 2019 to immediate acclamation. Adult by Respawn, information technology keeps a lot of what made Titanfall a fantastic shooter—quick pace, tight shooting—and adds a resurrection mechanic, some neat Overwatch-mode hero abilities, streamlined looting, and an intuitive pinging system that lets you communicate with strangers without getting on-mic, or meliorate signal to friends just where you saw that enemy sniper.
Oh, and information technology's likewise complimentary.
It's an incredible bundle, and while I miss the mechs and wall-running of the Titanfall serial I'm withal pretty impressed by how many unique ideas Respawn's brought to Apex Legends. I thought we'd settled into the PUBG/Fortnite duality, so suddenly there was new competition. Exciting.
Hyper Scape
Image by Ubisoft
But when you lot thought every publisher had made their play for the battle royale space, voila, another challenger appears. Ubisoft, who I idea had just decided to sit this trend out, recently released Hyper Scape.
This time, 100 "champions" drop into Neo-Arcadia, a sort-of futuristic cybercity that exists only in (an in-game version of) virtual reality. And sure, that premise probably isn't enough to brand you ditch your current boxing royale obsession and switch over. Hyper Scape has a few interesting gimmicks though. "Hacks" give your character wild abilities, allowing you to turn invisible, create a wall for instantaneous cover, or even turn into a giant hamster brawl and bounce around the map. There's as well an alternating win condition, allowing sneaky players to steal the Crown near the finish of a match instead of merely being the last survivor. It's a lot of fun to play with a few friends.
Overcooked 2
Image by Overcooked 2
Nosotros e'er take to include at to the lowest degree ane relationship-catastrophe game on this list, and this yr it'southward Overcooked 2. Every bit in the original, you lot and up to 3 friends are tasked with running a kitchen—preparing and cooking ingredients, assembling them, and getting them out to customers in a timely style.
If information technology sounds easy, then you've never experienced the teeth-gritting frustration of yelling "No, I need the onion over at that place! What are you even doing?" while someone else on your team fills every counter surface with plates for no reason and all your burgers start burning. Party's over, everyone.
Warhammer: Vermintide Two
Image by Warhammer: Vermintide Ii
The originalWarhammer:Vermintide took me by surprise. It released in tardily 2015 with very little marketing, and in the midst of that era where something like 2-dozenWarhammer games all released at the same time. Most of those were forgettable, butVermintide stood out—likeLeft 4 Dead, but focused on fast-paced medieval combat. Which makes sense, when you realize programmer Fatshark was responsible for Paradox'sState of war of the Vikings.
Warhammer:Vermintide II is more of a known quantity, but that doesn't make it bad. Quite the opposite—information technology's excellent, especially if you tin can bring along a few friends. Slicing through rat hordes and the forces of Chaos alike is a bloody expert time, and the increased enemy variety adds a lot to missions. Hopefully post-release back up will flesh out the game even farther.
Star Trek Span Crew
Image past Ubisoft
People love to talk nearly how "isolating" virtual reality can be, but as it turns out one of the best Vive/Rift games is co-op.Star Trek: Bridge Crewplaces you on the bridge of aUSS Enterprise-alike, tasking you with performing duties every bit Captain, Captain, Tactical, or Engineering Officer.
It all amounts to a bunch of push button-pressing and dial-twisting as far every bit your actual controls, but playing together with three other people, hearing them yell "Get in and so!" and "Roger, Captain," over the intercom equally you spar with the Klingons? A nerd dream come up true.
And for those who haven't yet invested in a pricey VR headset, Ubisoft updated the game last year to support normal monitors likewise. Information technology'south not quite as engaging (go it?) equally the VR version, only notwithstanding a pretty fun pseudo-simulator.
Shadow Warrior ii
Image by Shadow Warrior two
I wasn't as big a fan of Shadow Warrior 2as I was of the original 2013 reboot. Where the previous game had a tight story with splendid corridor shooting and some incredible boss designs, the sequel adopted a Borderlands-style approach: procedurally generated and open world-esque levels, lots of forage enemies, generic side missions, gear grinding, and pretty shallow bosses.
But while none of that makes for a great unmarried-player experience, information technology does make for a fun co-op experience. You and your friends can drop in and out of the generated levels at volition, slaughtering thousands of demons together and mostly not caring one whit well-nigh the overarching story.
Killing Floor 2
Paradigm by Tripwire
In past years I hesitated to put Killing Floor ii on the listing. In the middle of 2016, the game was receiving a spate of negative Steam reviews and was going through some Early on Access growing pains, with the community at odds with the developers.
Merely congrats to Tripwire for pulling out of it. Killing Flooring 2 recovered, and it'due south now the Killing Floor successor I think everyone (or at to the lowest degree virtually people) wanted. Political party up, get your guns out, and go ready to blast waves of zombies "specimens" in the face up while coating the floors in gallons of claret. Tripwire leans heavily on seasonal content, and it keeps the game feeling fresh fifty-fifty afterward all these years.
Dying Light
Prototype by Dying Light
Something nearly co-op and zombies, eh? Dying Calorie-free is nonetheless another entry on this list that pits you lot and friends against the shambling hordes of the undead. And although it's getting up at that place in years, it'south also the well-nigh extensive of the zombie games, with a massive open world built for sprinting through alleyways and bounding over rooftops using thrilling parkour mechanics.
The game'south perfectly pleasant alone, but infinitely more chaotic with companions. It'due south y'all, three friends, and a lightning sword/a fire-coated machete/a big ol' sledgehammer/a baseball bat covered in nails. You lot tin can fifty-fifty play through the entire lengthy campaign together if you so choose.
Now if only nosotros knew when Dying Light 2 was coming out…
Payday two
Paradigm by Payday ii
Merely last yr I wrote "Reports of Payday 2's death were greatly exaggerated." Now I'one thousand not so certain. Listen, Starbreeze is going through some tough times correct now, with insider trading allegations, a CEO who apparently vanished off the face of the globe, and Overkill's The Walking Dead so disastrous that Robert Kirkman rescinded the Walking Expressionless license. How long will Payday 2 exist up and running? I honestly don't know.
And that's a shame, considering it's still a fantastic co-op experience. Pulling off heists with friends is fun, particularly given how cheap it is to get started these days. If you've ever wanted to attempt Payday 2…well, maybe now'due south the time, earlier information technology disappears forever.
Brad Chacos spends his days digging through desktop PCs and tweeting as well much. He specializes in graphics cards and gaming, but covers everything from security to Windows tips and all fashion of PC hardware.
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