Ever since I’ve had a partner, I have been playing a lot of co-op games recently because we’re in a long distance relationship and it’s best way for us to bond despite our physical distance. Recently, a friend of mine started a similar relationship too and we kept talking about what games to play with our partners.
So, I thought, I should make a list of coop games that I have found and the various quirks with them. From experience, this is really not something that’s well documented online nor on store fronts.
Even markers like “Online Co-op” on Steam are not very helpful because they don’t really tell you much other than “it exists officially in some form”. That doesn’t tell you the amount of mods that exist for the game, whether it’s cross-platform or not, and so on.
I’ll be updating this list regularly as I discover more games and of course, you can contribute to this list by sending me an e-mail or submitting a pull request/issue on GitHub: https://github.com/yukiisbored/nextgen.
| Game | Method | Connection Modes | Special Features | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Days to Die | Built-in | Self-hosted server | ||
| Baldur's Gate 3 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform), Cross-progression | |
| Barony | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Mod support | |
| Don't Starve Together | Built-in | Self-hosted server, Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen (Xbox/PlayStation) | Mod support | |
| DOOM (1993)+ | Built-in | Self-hosted server (PC), Split-screen (Xbox/PlayStation) | Mod support | |
| Enter the Gungeon | Built-in | Split-screen | ||
| Factorio | Built-in | Self-hosted server, Peer-to-Peer | Mod support | |
| Halo: The Master Chief Collection+ | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Helldivers 2 | Built-in | Cloud server | ||
| Hytale | Built-in | Self-hosted server, Peer-to-Peer | Mod support | |
| Last Epoch | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| NZ: Portable (COD Zombies Demake) | Built-in | Self-hosted server | ||
| Portal 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Mod support | |
| Project Zomboid | Built-in | Self-hosted server, Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Mod support | |
| Satisfactory | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Self-hosted server | Crossplay (Xbox/PlayStation), Mod support | |
| Stardew Valley | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Crossplay (cross-generation), Mod support | |
| Super Mario 64 | Mod: sm64coopdx | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Terraria | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen (Xbox/PlayStation) | Crossplay (cross-generation), Mod support | |
| The Binding of Isaac: Repentance | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Mod support | |
| Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Valheim | Built-in | Self-hosted server | ||
| Vintage Story | Built-in | Self-hosted server | Mod support | |
| Biped | ||||
| Biped | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Biped 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Borderlands | ||||
| Borderlands 1 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Borderlands 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Borderlands 3 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Call of Duty: Zombies (Treyarch) | ||||
| Call of Duty: World at War | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Mod support | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Built-in | Cloud server | ||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | Built-in | Cloud server | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Built-in | Cloud server | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Dark Souls | ||||
| Dark Souls: Remastered | Mod: Seamless Co-op | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Dark Souls 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Dark Souls 3 | Mod: Seamless Co-op | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Diablo | ||||
| Diablo | Mod: DevilutionX | Self-hosted server | ||
| Diablo II: Resurrected | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Cross-progression | |
| Diablo III | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Diablo IV | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform), Cross-progression | |
| Far Cry | ||||
| Far Cry 4 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Far Cry 5 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Far Cry New Dawn | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Far Cry 6 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-generation), Cross-progression | |
| Half Life | ||||
| Half-Life+ | Mod: Sven Co-op | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Black Mesa | Mod: SourceCoop | Self-hosted server | ||
| Half Life 2+ | Mod: Synergy | Self-hosted server | ||
| Hazelight Studios | ||||
| A Way Out | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Friend Pass, Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| It Takes Two | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Friend Pass, Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Split Fiction | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Friend Pass, Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Left 4 Dead | ||||
| Left 4 Dead | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Left 4 Dead 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Mod support | |
| Minecraft | ||||
| Minecraft: Bedrock Edition | Built-in | Cloud server (Paid), Self-hosted server (PC), Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen (Xbox/PlayStation) | Crossplay (cross-platform), Mod support | |
| Minecraft: Java Edition | Built-in | Cloud server (Paid), Self-hosted server, Peer-to-Peer (Mod: Essential.gg), Split-screen (Mod: Controlify) | Mod support | |
| Minecraft Dungeons | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Minecraft Legends | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Monster Hunter | ||||
| Monster Hunter Rise | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-generation) | |
| Monster Hunter World | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Monster Hunter Wilds | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| PAYDAY | ||||
| PAYDAY: The Heist | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| PAYDAY 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| PowerWash Simulator | ||||
| PowerWash Simulator | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (PC/Xbox) | |
| PowerWash Simulator 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer, Split-screen | Crossplay (PC/Xbox) | |
| Warhammer 40K | ||||
| Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Warhammer 40K: Space Hulk Deathwing | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | ||
| Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Warhammer 40K: Battlefleet Gothic Armada II | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
| Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 | Built-in | Peer-to-Peer | Crossplay (cross-platform) | |
72 games total, including 14 series.
- Cross-generation crossplay means that it supports crossplay between different generations of the same platform (e.g. PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S), not cross-platform play between different platforms (e.g. PS4 and Xbox One).
- Mod support is a bit subjective. I only consider games with mods which introduces replayability (e.g. make it a different game to some degree) and not just cosmetic/community fixes/quality-of-life changes.
Playing split-screen games remotely
Split-screen games can be played remotely via streaming. This can be done with Steam Remote Play (if supported by the game) or Parsec.
Playing with servers without port-forwarding
Some games require a dedicated server to play together and you’re unable to setup port-forwarding or spend money on a server. You can use services like Playit.gg to tunnel your local server to the internet for free. Of course, you can also setup a VPN with Hamachi or Tailscale.
Emulating old games
Split-screen games on consoles
A lot of games that exists before the seventh generation of consoles (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii) have split-screen multiplayer and can be emulated on PC without hefty system requirements.
A friend specifically recommended PlayStation 2 games, such as Kuri Kuri Mix (US: Cookies & Cream), Champions of Norrath, Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance (1+2), and Gauntlet Dark Legacy. I think these games can be emulated with PCSX2 and played with a friend remotely via Parsec.
I have made a query on MobyGames of PlayStation 2 games with split-screen multiplayer.
DOSBOX
A lot of old PC games from the DOS era have local LAN multiplayer which can be setup easily with IPX/emulation in DOSBOX.
I have made a query on MobyGames of games with Multiplayer via IPX support.