Best co-op games: top titles you can share with friends right now

Best co-op games: It Takes Two's Cody and May hanging onto a dandelion
(Image credit: Future/Hazelight Studios)

The best co-op games guarantee fun with friends and family, whether you’re sharing a screen or meeting up online.

Co-op games are designed to be played together, and not against each other, like many of the best multiplayer games. Of course there are games on this list that you can also play against your friends, but our list focuses on the team work aspect, whether that’s in a sports game, one of the best RPGs out there, or in an action adventure. Team work makes the dream work, even when playing together can be surprisingly stressful, depending on the game.

In great-co-op games players can be each other’s eyes, hands or feet. You get tasks that are either too big to be fulfilled alone, or you find yourself in a pickle only a friend can rescue you from.

Brilliant games like It takes Two show that playing a story with a friend works well when a game’s narrative is designed for it too, and plenty of the best MMO games invite us to explore their worlds with our friends. Whatever your speed, in this list you can find games for co-cop sessions with friends and loved ones.

Best co-op games

Why you can trust TechRadar Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

best co-op games: a female character with a blue updo and a stock male character riding on frogs

It Takes Two (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

It Takes Two

Team work makes the dream work

Reasons to buy

+
Family friendly
+
Takes elements from lots of genres
+
Fun for gamers and non-gamers
+
Friend's Pass available

Reasons to avoid

-
Some levels are a bit drawn out

Platforms available: PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC

Online or couch co-op? Both 

It Takes Two is a fun, tongue-in-cheek adventure that creator Josef Fares famously said anyone would enjoy – or he would issue them a refund. Fares’ strategy must’ve paid off (no pun intended), because It takes Two was one of the best games of 2021 and is easily one of the best co-op games right now.

The story of a husband and wife who are enchanted and have to cooperate in order to turn back into their real selves is built for co-op play from the ground up, just like Hazelight’s previous game No Way Out. The fantastical theme offers even more opportunities for varied and fun gameplay. It takes Two is a memorable experience, one that even people who usually don’t enjoy playing with others should make time for.


best co-op games: a car hooting a football while an explosion behind it maes other cars flip

Rocket League (Image credit: Psyonix)

Rocket League

Have a ball

Reasons to buy

+
Easy for newcomers to pick up
+
A league-based system online
+
Plenty of vehicle customizations and modes

Reasons to avoid

-
May not be for you if you get overwhelmed at chaos

Platforms available: PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch

Online or couch co-op? Both

Rocket League, the game that sees you play soccer with cars, is persistently popular, even years after it was first released. Now that it's a free-to-play game, there will always be others available to play with you and against you, that’s why the game is also on the list of the best multiplayer PC games.

Matches range from 1-v-1 to 4-v-4, so there’s a lot of flexibility when it comes to gathering your friends for co-op play. Rocket League is a game that requires ceaseless communication, as you try to coordinate your team into a speeding carousel of goalkeeping, defending and attacking. There’s also a league-based system online, so you get a nice sense of progression as your team grows from a fumbling mess into a well-oiled machine.


best co-op games: two large ships on a choppy sea in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Sea of Thieves

A pirate's life for me

Reasons to buy

+
Regular exciting updates
+
Playing with different people keeps things varied
+
Ever-evolving world

Reasons to avoid

-
A lot of fetch quests

Platforms available: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC

Online or couch co-op? Online

This is a stirring example of a game that hit the ground stumbling but really caught the wind in its sails over the last four years. Sea of Thieves tasks up to four players with manning a ship, and sailing around a vibrant, cartoon Caribbean-style set of islands in search of plunder, adventure and notoriety.

While the game used to feel loose and a little purposeless in the beginning, it’s now filled out to become an ever-evolving world of possibilities. You follow maps to skeleton-infested coves, fight mythical sea creatures, and take on other player-controlled ships and crews. There's even an overarching story to keep tabs on.

Sea of Thieves is the ultimate freewheeling pirate fantasy, designed purposely to be played alongside a motley crew of scurvy-infested sea rats you call your friends. It's easily one of the best co-op games right now, as well as one of the best Xbox Series X and best Xbox One games.


best co-op games: Two kitchens on rafts with cooks working in them in Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2 (Image credit: Ghost Town Games)

Overcooked 2

Un-bread rising

Reasons to buy

+
A variety of recipes and kitchens
+
Frantic, silly fun
+
Lots of levels

Reasons to avoid

-
You will definitely fall out with your friend

Platforms available: PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S if you pick up the All You Can Eat compilation)

Online or couch co-op? Both

In a bid to defeat the 'Un-bread' (zombie baked goods), in Overcooked 2 you and up to three other players must prepare a variety of recipes including sushi, pizza, and burgers while working in increasingly chaotic restaurants. To add to the frantic fun, you must battle obstacles including random fires, collapsing floors, and interfering passers by, all while getting your orders out to the pass in time.

Things get complicated incredibly quickly, and relationships, friendships, and family bonds will be tested as you work together to complete your recipes on time, making it one of the best co-op games for that very reason – after all, it is as the saying goes, "too many cooks spoil the broth."

We recommend picking up the original Overcooked too, if you haven't played it already. If you're fortunate enough to have a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S then you can pick up Overcooked: All You Can Eat, a compilation that includes the first and second games alongside all the DLC for both.


best co-op games: a group of bikers riding down a street in GTA Online

GTA Online (Image credit: Rockstar)

GTA Online

Chaotic playground

Reasons to buy

+
Huge, dense world
+
Plenty of activities
+
Regular updates

Reasons to avoid

-
Other players can be a pain

Platforms available: PS4, PC, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S

Online or couch co-op? Online

What began as a barebones online mode some nine years ago has grown into one of the best co-op games out there. While playing with strangers tends to be shambolic, gather a crew of friends and you’ll have all the madness of San Andreas at your fingertips. The incredible roleplaying in GTA Online is also absolutely infamous by now.

You can run around the world freely causing general mayhem or take on competing crews in dedicated missions. The best co-op experiences, however, are in the game's multi-part heists. There’s nothing like robbing a bank and running out to an alley where your driver screeches up right on cue, then fleeing for the hills with police klaxons in your rear-view mirror.


best co-op games: a group of characters standing near an altar on a cliff

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Image credit: Larian Studios)

Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition

A modern RPG for the ages

Reasons to buy

+
Flexible and freeing systems
+
Classic RPG foundation
+
Multiple ways to progress

Reasons to avoid

-
Can be hard to keep track of quests

Platforms available: PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch

Online or couch co-op? Both

Everyone who’s invested hundreds of hours into RPGs has at some point fantasized about playing through an entire campaign with a friend. Divinity: Original Sin 2 goes one better, and makes co-op arguably the best way to play the campaign.

Up to four players (two in split-screen) can freely roam around Divinity’s rich, story-filled game world. You can stick together as a unit, maximizing your chances during the challenging turn-based combat, or split up to try to find your own ways of solving quests. Additionally, there are in-game conversations between player-characters that shape their personality and ultimately how you play through the game.

Original Sin 2 feels as if every single decision matters, whether that’s in conversation, combat or exploration. For that incredible feat, it’s a great co-op experience and also one of the best RPGs.


best co-op games: A hunter swinging on a rope towards a monster

Monster Hunter: World (Image credit: Capcom)

Monster Hunter: World

Friends who slay together...

Reasons to buy

+
Rich environments
+
Captivating monsters
+
Plenty of secrets to uncover

Reasons to avoid

-
Combat can feel rigid
-
The camera can be a bit erratic

Platforms available: PS4, PC and Xbox One

Online or couch co-op? Online

The long-running oddball series finally grabbed the attention of the whole world with its latest installment, refining many of the more awkward bits while doubling down on making its primordial Jurassic world a hostile joy to explore and one of the best co-op games.

Although perhaps a little fiddlier to set up than would be ideal, you can group up with your friends and hunt scaled-up versions of formidable dinosaur-like beasts together. The sheer variety of weapons offers many tactical opportunities; for instance, assign someone to buff the squad while one player shoots from afar and the others get stuck into the melee with their swords and spears.

Monster Hunter: World's dynamic world means that the unexpected can always happen; another monster may join the fray or the ground may collapse beneath your feet. It means that even with friends, it’s a world that never stops feeling wild and dangerous.

The sequel, Monster Hunter Rise, is available on PC and Switch and also comes highly recommended.


best co-op games: a forest in Minecraft at dusk

Minecraft (Image credit: Microsoft/Mojang)

Minecraft

Pixelated playground

Reasons to buy

+
Fun for all ages
+
Loads of ways to play
+
Playground of creativity

Reasons to avoid

-
Some may find the building parts boring

Platforms available: PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Android and iOS

Online or couch co-op? Both, but split-screen is a console-exclusive feature only available for certain editions of the game.

Thi is the ultimate co-op experience, allowing players to grab blocks and build worlds together that are only limited by imagination. The beauty of Minecraft is that it can be played co-operatively across different platforms, that's why it's also made our list of the best crossplay games .The main world can for example be hosted on PC , while others jump in using an Android or iOS device.

If you don't know what Minecraft is all about, then get out from under that rock. However, in its simplest terms, Minecraft is a block-building simulator that seemingly has no limits. 

Of course, you can go hardcore and join the numerous PC-based Minecraft servers seeded on the Internet using the original Java-based version of the game. And the creations you can find are simply mind-boggling, ranging from the reconstructing of actual cities to a full-scale Starship Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.


best co-op games: two men with large muscles pointing guns at something offscreen

Gears 5 (Image credit: The Coalition)
Still slick

Reasons to buy

+
Visually intoxicating
+
Plenty of multiplayer modes
+
New mechanics make it feel fresh

Reasons to avoid

-
Open world elements feel off
-
Doesn't flesh out narrative

Platforms available: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC

Online or couch co-op? Both

Gears 5 is fantastic, and it's made even better if you take advantage of its co-op. If you haven't played any entries in the Gears series, all you need to know is that it's a third-person shooter that will get your adrenaline pumping.

Players step into the shoes of Kait Diaz for the first time who, following the events of Gears of War 4, is trying to come to terms with the death of her mother, unravel the twisted roots of her family tree and deal with her own personal baggage. Meanwhile, humanity is being threatened once more - this time by the Swarm, the successor to the Locust horde.

Not only can you play through the game's campaign with a friend, you can team up with others in multiplayer horde mode, escape mode or in versus matches. 


best co-op games: Two characters, one a man, the other a black woman in a police uniform

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Image credit: Ubisoft)

Rainbow Six Siege

Reasons to buy

+
Communication vital
+
Focus on strategy
+
Regular updates

Reasons to avoid

-
No real story

Platforms available: PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, PC and Xbox One

Online or couch co-op? Online

Even if you're not the type to rack up headshots every evening after work in Call of Duty, don't be so quick to write off Rainbow Six Siege as "just another competitive first-person shooter". It's not. Ubisoft has come a long way in realizing the Rainbow Six series' potential. With the advent of online gaming, the publisher was able to take teamwork to an entirely new level with Siege.

While the game is mostly about cultivating brief yet unforgettable relationships with other players in fully destructible environments, it also requires a fair share of planning. Because of the limited resources you're given in each mission, it's essential to keep communication purely tactical in order to take down the opposing side.

Unfortunately there's no real story  to speak of here, but if you're interested in joining up with a few buddies online for countless hours' worth of strategy-focused competitive gaming, Rainbow Six Siege is a safe bet.

Vic Hood
Associate Editor, TechRadar Gaming

Vic is TechRadar Gaming's Associate Editor. An award-winning games journalist, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's also an avid mental health advocate who has appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.