Nothing keeps a friend group together like a good co-op game — and nothing tests a friendship like a bad one. These ten games are the ones our community keeps coming back to in 2026, from chaotic party fun to hundred-hour campaigns.
1. Helldivers 2
Still the king of “one more mission.” Four-player squads, friendly fire that is always technically your fault, and a live galactic war that makes every drop feel meaningful.
2. Baldur’s Gate 3
The best RPG of its generation is also a phenomenal (and phenomenally chaotic) co-op experience. One of you plays the story; the other steals everything that is not nailed down.
3. Lethal Company
Proximity voice chat plus jump scares equals the funniest screams you will ever hear from your friends. Cheap, replayable, perfect at midnight.
4. Deep Rock Galactic
Rock and Stone! Class-based dwarf mining with zero toxicity in its community and endless mission variety. The friendliest co-op shooter on Steam.
5. It Takes Two
Still the best pure two-player campaign ever made — and the Friend’s Pass means only one of you needs to own it.
6. Sons of the Forest
Survival horror where the real content is your friends’ terrible base-building decisions. Tense, beautiful, and very funny in a group.
7. Enshrouded
Survival crafting meets action RPG with up to 16 players on a server. The building system is the deepest in the genre right now.
8. Content Warning
Film scary monsters, go viral, die horribly. A four-player horror-comedy loop that produces actual usable video clips of your sessions.
9. Stardew Valley
The comfort classic. Four-player farming co-op remains the best way to decompress with friends after a stressful week — a decade after release.
10. Split Fiction
From the studio behind It Takes Two: a genre-hopping two-player adventure that swings from sci-fi to fantasy set pieces. The new benchmark for couch (or Remote Play) co-op.
Playing on a budget?
Half of this list goes on deep discount during every seasonal sale, and several run free weekends regularly. Keep an eye on our Steam sales calendar to grab them cheap — or win a key outright in one of our free giveaway rounds and make game night truly free.