It’s not always possible to round up your friends to play couch coop games, but there are a ton of titles that let you keep the fun going from afar. If you’re hunting for the best online co-op games to play, we assume you are familiar with classics like Minecraft, Fortnite, Among Us, Left 4 Dead 2, and GTA Online, so we have hand-picked fresh alternatives. Our picks cover all kinds of genres: squad-based ninja brawlers, first-person paranormal investigations, pixelated farming simulators, and many more. No matter what you and your friends are into, there’s a PlayStation, Xbox, Windows PC, or Switch experience listed here worth checking out.
Updated December 2022: We’ve added five games, including Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and Raft.
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Courtesy of Iron Gate
Valheim
This open-world survival game stormed onto the scene like a berserker with bloodlust and managed to find a fresh spin on the genre. Together with up to nine friends, you can share resources, build a settlement, and then pile into a longboat and sail off in search of fame and fortune. There’s a vast landscape to explore, teeming with monsters to slay, but you can also craft, farm, and build to your heart’s content. It’s an unforgiving world, so having a good crew at your side is essential.
Up to 10 Vikings can work together to survive online.
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Courtesy of Turtle Rock
Back 4 Blood
If you spent hours playing any of the Left 4 Dead games years ago, then there’s a strong chance you’ll thoroughly enjoy this modernized version from the same developers. The mechanics are similar—you work in a team of four and advance through a map while completing various objectives and fighting off zombie hordes until you reach a safe house. Each map you complete progresses the narrative.
Back 4 Blood spices things up with a variety of special zombies that are terrifying, and downright near-impossible to kill without teamwork in Nightmare difficulty mode. There’s also a system of cards you can collect and add to your deck to give your character and team certain perks and upgrades. The game might not be as addicting as the original series, but it’ll for sure make you relive the glory days.
Up to four players can take on the zombie hordes online.
