Cooperative games to pull in your buddies for shared fun and challenges
Gamers often prefer playing games together with friends, and co-op experiences have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, finding budget-friendly co-op games that cater to a group of more than 2 players can be a challenge. Here we've rounded up some top picks for dirt-cheap co-op games that your group chat will enjoy:
Recent updates
- April 2025: The latest multiplayer sensation Repo has been added to our list of dirt-cheap co-op games for those who enjoy comedy horror with friends. Fans of a co-op campaign will want to check out Hazelight Studios' new game Split Fiction in the 2-player section, and live service action players can find the new Monster Hunter Wilds in 4-player.
The best dirt-cheap co-op games
PC Gamer's team has spent countless hours reviewing games to bring you the most meaningful insights:
- Fall Guys (Free❗) - A silly physics-based tournament game perfect for声援 and camaraderie.
- Sven Co-op (Free❗) - A co-op game based on Half-Life 1 that's always a hit amongst gamers.
- Among Us (~$5) - Known for its social deception aspect, this game is a great icebreaker among friends.
- Stick Fight: The Game (~$5) - A physics-based combat title featuring stick figures for competitive gameplay.
- Mount Your Friends 3D (~$7) - Competitive human stacking game that's hilarious fun.
- Super Video Golf (~$9) - A criminally overlooked online golf game with top-notch gameplay.
- Terraria (~$10) - A classic side-scrolling survivalcraft offering hours of entertainment.
- Repo (~$10) - The latest comedy horror trend, focusing on physics and entertainment for your group chat.
Co-op games to snag on sale
These co-op games have higher regular prices but often go on sale:
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (often on sale at $6) - Squad-based horde fights.
- Viscera Cleanup Detail (often on sale at $5) - Sloppy co-op cleanup with a horror twist.
- Operation Tango (often on sale at $10) - Spy-themed two-player gameplay.
- Unrailed (often on sale at $5) - Hectic group-based train routing.
- Dungeon of the Endless (often on sale at $3) - Co-op roguelike.
- Heroes of Hammerwatch (often on sale at $5) - Run-based dungeon crawl.
- Witch It (often on sale at $5) - Prop Hunt-inspired multiplayer chaos.
Best two-player co-op games
Split Fiction
- Players: 2
- Price: $50/£40 or Game Pass/EA Play
- Style: Co-op action campaign
Split Fiction by Hazelight Studios seamlessly alternates between various genres, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging. You and a friend will work together as aspiring writers, navigating through fantasy and sci-fi worlds to solve puzzles and overcome challenges. Only one friend needs to own the game, as the "friend pass" version can be downloaded for free for the second player.
Styx: Shards of Darkness
- Players: 1-2
- Price: $20/£18
- Style: Co-op stealth campaign
This sequel to Styx offers a rare co-op stealth campaign experience, comparable to 2-player Hitman but with over-the-top gore and an abundance of swearing goblins. Players can choose their own approach to each level, using a variety of stealth strategies such as poison and environmental traps. Cooperation is important for synchronizing kills and taking advantage of each character's unique abilities.
We Were Here
- Players: 2
- Price: Free
- Style: Co-op puzzle campaign
The We Were Here series is designed specifically for co-op gameplay. Players must communicate and work together to solve intricate puzzles, inspired by escape rooms and games like Myst. The focus on communication and teamwork makes this a challenging, yet rewarding, experience for players.
Outward
- Players: 1-2
- Price: $40/£35
- Style: Open world RPG
Outward is an unforgiving RPG experience that requires careful decision-making and resource management. It offers a unique challenge with its lack of map waypoints and easiness fast-travel options, making navigation more authentic. Playing with a friend adds a layer of companionship and strategy to the game.
Portal 2
- Players: 2
- Price: $10/£9
- Style: Co-op puzzle campaign
Portal 2's co-op campaign mode is highly-regarded for its engaging gameplay and intricate puzzles. As two co-op partners, players will navigate a darker, more dangerous side of GlaDOS's tests while combining different abilities to solve problems. The campaign supports both local and online co-op, and there are numerous user-created maps available to keep the fun going.
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $70
- Style: Mission-based and free-roam hunts
Monster Hunter Wilds is an action game focusing on hunting massive monsters, both solo and in multiplayer. The latest installment in the Monster Hunter series offers smoother multiplayer functionality, making it easier to join friends on missions.
Helldivers 2
- Players: 4 (solo optional)
- Price: $40/£35
- Style: Mission-based squad shooter
Helldivers 2 is a fast-paced, third-person shooter that tasks players with battling various interstellar threats. It features an evolving galactic war managed by a designated "Game Master" at Arrowhead Game Studios, making the gameplay feel dynamic and engaging.
Palworld
- Players: 1-4 (up to 32 on a dedicated server)
- Price: $30/£25 or Game Pass
- Style: Open world survivalcraft
Palworld is a game inspired by Pokémon, combining resource management, base-building, and creature collecting. The co-op experience is excellent for resource sharing and tackling challenges together.
Lethal Company
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $10/£8.50
- Style: Goofy horror
Lethal Company is a run-based, social horror game similar to Phasmophobia. The humor comes from proximity-based voice chat, making it thrilling to listen to your friends' screams in the next room.
Satisfactory
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $30/£28
- Style: Open-ended crafting
Satisfactory is a logistics game that focuses on resource management and automation. It allows for up to four players to work together to build factories, gather resources, and upgrade their base.
Don't Starve Together
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $15/£11 ($7.50 per person, includes two copies❗)
- Style: Open world survivalcraft
Don't Starve Together is a co-op version of the popular survival game, Don't Starve. Players work together to survive in a dark and unforgiving world, sharing resources and deciding on strategies to thrive.
Back 4 Blood
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $60
- Style: Mission-based FPS fest
Back 4 Blood offers four-player co-op horde-shooting gameplay, combining elements of Left 4 Dead with modern conveniences such as aim-down-sights, sprinting, mantling, and a card-based progression system.
Deep Rock Galactic
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $30 or Game Pass
- Style: Hectic horde-fighting FPSing
Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative shooter-looter set in a procedurally-generated cave environment. Players take on roles as dwarves, excavating resources, fighting enemies, and navigating obstacles together.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $30
- Style: Horde-fighting with swords
Vermintide 2 offers four-player co-op horde-fighting gameplay, set in the Warhammer universe. It features various races and enemy types, demanding teamwork and communication to survive.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $45/£30
- Style: Getting together for weekly D&D
Divinity: Original Sin 2 features four-player co-op gameplay, allowing players to adventure together in a vast, reactive world. Players can explore, make choices, and engage in tactical combat with their friends.
Sea of Thieves
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $20/£18 or Game Pass
- Style: Cackling in the group call
Sea of Thieves is an open-world pirate adventure game, with a strong emphasis on exploration, cooperation, and communication. Players can team up and navigate the seas together, specialized in different roles such as sailing, swashbuckling, and treasure hunting.
Overcooked! 2
- Players: 1-4
- Price: $25/£20 or Game Pass
- Style: Head chef chaos
Overcooked! 2 is a fast-paced and chaotic cooking game, ideal for four-player co-op gameplay. It features a wide range of increasingly insane and challenging kitchen levels, requiring coordination, communication, and rapid reflexes.
Stardew Valley
- Players: 1-8
- Price: $15/£11 or Game Pass
- Style: Chill group farming
Stardew Valley offers up to eight-player co-op farm management gameplay, where players can work together to till the soil, plant crops, and manage resources to turn their land into a thriving farm.
Valheim
- Players: Varies
- Price: $20/£16 or Game Pass
- Style: Open world survival
Valheim is a survival, sandbox, and role-playing game set in a fantasy Viking-themed world. It supports up to ten players for cooperative play, allowing friends to work together to survive, craft, and explore the vast world of Valheim.
Project Zomboid
- Players: Varies
- Price: $20/£17 (4-pack for $60❗)
- Style: Slow, strategic survival
Project Zomboid is a sandbox survival game set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. The game features a permadeath mechanic, crafting, navigation, and resource management elements. It supports up to eight players for cooperative gameplay.
Minecraft
- Players: Varies
- Price: $30 or Game Pass
- Style: Open world survivalcraft
Minecraft is a popular sandbox game featuring infinite worlds, multiple gameplay modes, and an expansive creative potential. It supports up to 100 players for multiplayer gameplay, offering endless opportunities for cooperation, competition, and collaboration.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Players: Varies
- Price: $40 or Game Pass
- Style: Co-op campaign or PvP matchmaking
Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes six games in the Halo series with various cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. It supports up to four players for co-op campaign gameplay and offers matchmaking for PvP games, ensuring endless hours of fun with friends.
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Players: Up to 30 (depending on the server)
- Price: $30
- Style: Open world online action
Grand Theft Auto Online is an open-world multiplayer game set in the sprawling city of Los Santos. It features various missions, co-op activities, and PvP gameplay. While it primarily focuses on free-roam gameplay, the game also offers structured missions and heists for cooperative play.
Forza Horizon 5
- Players: Up to 72
- Price: $60 or Game Pass
- Style: Chill racing
Forza Horizon 5 is an open-world racing game set in Mexico, featuring a wide variety of vehicles and challenging tracks. Multiplayer modes include race events, drift competitions, and treasure hunts. Players can join custom events created by the community or create their own. The game supports up to 72 players for co-op gameplay.
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- Enthusiastic gamers often delve into co-op games, especially those that cater to more than two players, as joined experiences have gained popularity in recent years.
- In April 2025, Repo, a comedy horror game with a multiplayer sensation, was added to the list of dirt-cheap co-op games.
- Gamers who enjoy a co-op campaign would be interested in Split Fiction by Hazelight Studios, a game that alternates between various genres and can be played by two players.
- The latest release in the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Wilds, offers four-player co-op gameplay where players hunt massive monsters together.
- Fall Guys, a free physics-based tournament game, is perfect for teamwork and camaraderie when playing with friends.
- Sven Co-op, a free game based on Half-Life 1, remains a hit among gamers and is suitable for co-op gameplay.
- Among Us, a game that focuses on social deception and is priced around $5, can serve as an excellent icebreaker for friends.
- Lethal Company, an affordable goofy horror game, incorporates proximity-based voice chat for added excitement and communication among friends.
