30 New Best Co-op Games of 2023

The triple-A gaming industry is largely dominated by single player titles, often with a strong narrative focus. Even many smaller-scale titles follow this same direction. While we always love a compelling single player experience, co-op games are just as valid in different ways. They’re typically more immediately enjoyable, letting you goof off with your friends to create stories that aren’t possible in a single player setting. In no particular order, here are the best co-op games to look forward to in 2023.

#30 Roboquest

Platform: PC Xbox One XSX|S
Release Date: November 07, 2023

Steam | Xbox

If you’re after a run-and-gun experience with a friend, then check out Roboquest. This new FPS title is based around a future where humanity is on its last legs. Evil robots flood the area, and while hope seems lost, our protagonist, Max, uncovers an old guardian bot that can be reactivated. Now, the duo set off to take the fight back against these evil bots and start seeking answers as to what these evil bots are after. Players can go through this game as a two-player experience. This is a fast-paced, action-packed game where it’s all about blasting away at the enemy. You will also get a bit of customization options here, whether it’s building up upgrades to your character or choosing from a wide range of weapons. 

#29 Risk of Rain Returns

Platform: PC Switch
Release Date: November 08, 2023

Steam | Nintendo

When you’re playing a co-op title, you need to work together to get the best result, and in Risk of Rain Returns, you’ll have to do that in spades across many different metrics.

First, you’re going to a planet full of monsters trying to hurt you, so you’ll want to pick survivors that fit your playstyle and can do what you need to. But you’ll also need to consider what your co-op partner is picking for their survivor so your skills can complement each other!

Even if you don’t do that, you’ll want to pick the right kind of loot to take on foes with. Not to mention, you’ll need to have each other’s backs as you explore this world!

#28 Starship Troopers: Extermination

Platform: PC
Release Date: May 17, 2023

Steam

When you’re fighting an alien menace that threatens all of humanity, which is totally epic if you didn’t know, sometimes you’ll want to take them on with as many people as possible. Thankfully, Starship Troopers: Extermination will let you do just that!

The co-op first-person shooter will take you to a world where the Arachnids have beaten back the Mobile Infantry, and you must reclaim all you’ve lost. As you explore the world, you’ll not only face the bugs but have to rebuild bases so you can seize control of the area once again.

Given all the types of bugs that will be thrown at you, you and your co-op partner must always be on their toes!

#27 Pikmin 4

Platform: Switch
Release Date: July 21, 2023

Nintendo

While not typically considered a co-op or multiplayer franchise, Nintendo has made it so that Pikmin 4 will continue the tradition of working together to complete tasks in an alien world.

After all, why take on the challenges alone when you can have someone back you up, right? Two heads can be better than one as you use your Pikmin to beat foes and overcome natural barriers in your way.

Just as cool, though, is the new game has a “Battle Mode” called Dandori, where you’ll face off against one another to see who can complete certain tasks first. Do you think you got what it takes to win?

#26 Baldur’s Gate 3

Platform: PC – August 3, 2023
Release Date: PS5 – September 6, 2023

Steam | Playstation

In today’s gaming age, most titles with an expansive world try to give you a co-op or multiplayer experience so that you can enjoy the game with friends. If you wish to do that in an RPG setting, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the title to try.

The best part here is that this won’t be a case of one person leading and the others following. You’ll be equal partners in this journey, and with four of you in one party, that means there are plenty of ways you can handle things.

You can coordinate to take down big bosses, go on separate quests, or screw each other over just because you can.

#25 Remnant 2

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: July 25, 2023

Steam | Playstation | Xbox

When you’re tasked with saving a world and saving the very existence you live in, it’d be nice not to have to do it alone. In Remnant II, you have the power to save reality on your own, or you can bring in a friend to help tag team things.

As you explore the game’s many worlds, you’ll find yourselves going up against bosses that few can beat on their own. In these times, call upon other players and work together to vanquish them.

To ensure you’re a team player, go and upgrade your character and blend classes together to unlock new abilities and potential.

#24 The Outlast Trials

Platform: PC
Release Date: May 18, 2023

Steam

Horror games can be best had with friends that are not even necessarily on your team. If you’re a fan of horror games, then chances are you are aware of The Outlast franchise. While before we get a third mainline installment, the developers brought out a multiplayer experience with The Outlast Trials. The Outlast Trials is set years before the first two games, during the Cold War, when the Murkoff Corporation imprisons you. Forced to undergo a variety of unethical experiments, the only means of escape is completing a series of challenges.

However, between you and these objectives are a variety of hostile enemies. Just like in previous games, there’s no means of attacking enemies. Instead, some items further buff your character up to quickly reach a new area or slow an enemy down. However, your greatest means of help is with friends. This game offers cooperative multiplayer support where you and some friends can try to complete these objectives together or potentially throw each other under the bus.

#23 PayDay 3

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: September 21, 2023

Are you ready to get back into the life of crime? That’s what Payday 3 is offering as you once again follow the original crew of robbers from Payday: The Heist. This game is all about going through a series of heists and stickups. You’ll have to plan out your attack, the weaponry, gadgets, and an escape route before you burst into the scene to take charge. Of course, this time around, we’re in New York, and the world, along with the economy, has changed since our original crew of criminals first got started in the life of crime. Law enforcement will have their own new tools and strategies to face off, not to mention the growing popularity of cryptocurrency. But fortunately, what hasn’t changed is the cooperative gameplay. This game will still feature co-op, so you and your friends can try to successfully complete some of the biggest heists New York has ever seen.

#22 Diablo IV

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: June 06, 2023

PC | Playstation | Xbox

As a game once said, “It’s too dangerous to go alone,” so why not take on monstrous hordes with friends? Diablo IV will let you do that!

While many hail Blizzard’s series for its single-player customization and gameplay, you can take things to the co-op and multiplayer level by making a party and traveling around the realm above and below. Whether you lead the part or are one of its key members, you’ll have to work together to defy the hordes of Lilith and other forces.

Will you be able to level up together and become an unstoppable force? Or will you all be beaten back until you “git gud”? Dive in and find out!

#21 Atlas Fallen

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: August 10, 2023

Atlas Fallen drops players into a sand-covered world and asks them to fight for mankind. But, unfortunately, the oppressed and corrupted gods have taken control. You’ll explore this world, glide through the sandy biomes, seek out treasure, explore the world, and fight off legendary monsters. Use powerful shape-shifting weapons and unique sand-powered abilities to bring your enemies down and raise humanity from the dust and filth they’ve been kept under. 

#20 Wo Long Fallen Dynasty

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: March 03, 2023

From the development team that brought out Nioh comes their latest release, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. This game is set during 184 AD in Han Dynasty China. Here we find the land has become infected with chaos leaving the imperial dynasty to fall. Now with a demonic legion taking control, players will step into the role of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival. Using your skills within the sword and Chinese martial arts, you’ll have to overcome incredible odds to see through this horrendous demonic plague. 

#19 Gangs of Sherwood

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: Nov 30, 2023

Gangs of Sherwood is a new take on the classic tale of Robin Hood. Players are getting a co-op action game where you’ll take on the role of either Robin, Marian, Friar Tuck, or Little John as you fight back against the armies of the Sheriff of Nottingham. With England oppressed, you’ll need to work together to fight back against the rich, seek out loot, and give to the poor. So far, we know that players will get to start the game within a hideout and plan out their best attack strategy with up to four players before each mission. 

#18 Six Days in Fallujah

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One
Release Date: 2023

Six Days in Fallujah is a FPS tactical shooter that follows a real battle that took place in Iraq in 1968. The developers here attempted to recreate true stories behind marines, soldiers, and Iraqi civilians, with each mission being a narration of the experience these individuals had. Overcome the chaotic battles and take command of your team through this modern war. Players can even work together online through these missions with cooperative multiplayer support. 

#17 Sengoku Dynasty

Platform: PC
Release: 2023

Sengoku Dynasty is a life simulation type of game. Here players are tossed into medieval Japan, where you’re seeking to recreate a loving home for your family within the Peasant Kingdom. But with war and famine ravaging the country, seeing your little empire succeed is a tough battle. You need to be a leader, go on quests, make trades, build a community, and manage your village. However, be prepared to become a warrior when trouble comes knocking on your door. While the focus is building up a village, it’s said that this game will also offer cooperative multiplayer, which means you’ll have some help when conquering the map. 

#16 RIPOUT

Platform: PC XSX|S PS5
Release: October 24, 2023

When the Earth is devastated and humanity is scattered, you would do all you can to find them again. In RIPOUT, that is your mission. You know there is a place called Sanctuary where some of the remaining people from Earth reside. But to find it, you must travel across multiple ships filled with mutants that aren’t afraid to kill you.

Fight back with the weapons you find and your “pet gun,” a living weapon you can train to do what you want.

Each ship will be its own challenge, so don’t think the next one will be easier. You won’t live long that way.

#15 Forever Skies

Platform: PC XSX|S PS5
Release: Jun 23, 2023

When the world is ruined, only those who can stay in the skies above can survive. In Forever Skies, you’ll get to build your ship from something basic that floats into a fully-armed and operational vessel you can take anywhere.

But it won’t be as simple as clicking around and augmenting it. Instead, you’ll need to travel this ruined world, go to the remains of other buildings, and harvest the resources that they have.

As you do, you can build machines and boost your ship’s capabilities. What kind of vessel will you craft by the game’s end? What will you learn about the fallen world along the way? Jump in and find out!

#14 Endless Dungeon

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One XSX|S PS5
Release: Oct 19, 2023

Imagine this, you have some vital cargo you’re carrying, and you suddenly get stranded on a space station. One that has both monsters looking to kill you and destroy your cargo and heroes that are waiting to be of service. Do you get the picture of what Endless Dungeon is now?

Yep, in the game, you’ll recruit heroes to your cause to try and escape the station before the critters within it destroy you and your crystal cargo.

The ways you can play the game are as endless as the game’s title. So try something out, see if it works, and if it doesn’t, try again with something new!

#13 Meet your Maker

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One XSX|S PS5
Release: April 04, 2023

Do you think you can outsmart scores of other players? If you do, then Meet your Maker is a title you’ll want to try.

The game focuses on you and other players, being a custodian. What are you tending to? A monster known as a chimera. You’ll need “genetic material’ from dead bodies to make it stronger, and the only way to get that “resource” is by killing the other players.

Oh, but you won’t need to get your hands dirty. You’ll construct bases and outposts and let death traps do that for you. The craftier you are, the more likely you’ll be to outwit everyone and build your perfect monster.

#12 Eresys

Platform: PC
Release: April 20, 2023

If you were to enter the universe of H.P. Lovecraft, you’d need to be of a certain mindset. If you only wish to play a game based on the universe with friends, you’ll need to get Eresys.

The title is a 4-person co-op title that’ll have you entering a forest where Lovecraftian nightmares await. The game is focused on horror, and simply moving through the forest can trigger events that’ll leave you speechless.

To overcome this, you must work together and use the occult practices to send the monsters packing and make it out alive.

There is much hidden in the forest. Will you be able to uncover it all before it’s too late?

#11 Hello Engineer

Platform: PC
Release: Aug 17 2023

If you’re a fan of a certain game series about you finding out the truth about your evil neighbor, then you’ll want to partake in its next adventure via Hello Engineer.

The game puts a twist on things by taking you out of the neighborhood and into an amusement park. Your evil neighbor constructed said park, and now you must escape it by building your own contraptions!

You’ll wander around and get parts, then assemble them to see if they can withstand the challenges your neighbor has put in front of you! Will you be able to overcome these challenges? Or will the neighbor foil you yet again?

#10 Wild Hearts

Platform: PC XSX|S PS5
Release: February 17, 2023

Have you seen other monster fighting franchises and wanted to get into them, but they were too difficult or grinding? If so, then you’ll want to give Wild Hearts a try. The title puts you in the role of a hunter who is blessed with the gift of using ancient technology. That technology is the only thing that can defeat monsters who have become aggressive after being infused with energy.

Work your way through the world and defeat the monsters in your path! The more you grow, the more you’ll be able to take on the tougher monsters that lie ahead!

#9 Moving Out 2

• Release date: 2023
• Publisher: Team17
• Developers: Devm Games, SMG Studio
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5

If you liked the original Moving Out title, then you’ll want to get Moving Out 2. The game aims to take the physics-based moving title and take it to not just the next level, but the next world!

Confused? Well, you won’t be in the town of Packmore anymore. Because whether you play the game alone or with friends, you’ll be traveling across dimensions in order to get new moving gigs and as a result of that, you’ll have a variety of new challenges to face!

Plus, you’ll now be able to play with people from all over the world! Making it so everyone can get in on the moving action!

#8 Dead Island 2

• Release date: February 3, 2023
• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows
• Developers: Deep Silver Dambuster Studios, YAGER, Sumo Digital, Free Radical Design
• Publishers: Deep Silver, Plaion

Dead Island 2 was a game that many thought would be lost to the annals of gaming history. After all, it was announced almost 10 years ago, and then it kept getting delayed, or passed to another developer, it just didn’t stop! But now its finally here and you can dive into this melee zombie action title once again.

Just as before we’re left in a zombie infested region where you’re tasked in finding a cure or a means of escape. We all went through quarantine after all and that wasn’t fun. At any rate, players will aid other NPCs with their quests but fortunately, you can join together online with a friend to make the game even more eventful. Sharpen up those blades and get ready to bash and slice through the undead.

#7 Exoprimal

• Developer: Capcom
• Publisher: Capcom
• Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
• Release date: July 14, 2023

Exoprimal is the closest thing we have to a mix between Left 4 Dead and Dino Crisis. It features an AI director that is similar to Left 4 Dead‘s dynamic mechanic. The game difficulty and objectives can dynamically shift depending on how players are doing in a match. The main difference stems from the fact that the AI director in question is a tangible character within the universe, known as Leviathan. Each of the exosuits fall under one of three archetypes — support, tank, and assault. As a major multiplatform release, full crossplay integration would only sweeten the deal.

#6 Kirby Return To Dreamland Deluxe

• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch
• Release date: February 24, 2023

One of the main digs at the Nintendo Switch is that the system loves to port games from the Wii U to the modern system. The good news is that this isn’t one of those titles. This is a port of a Wii title! Totally different!

In celebration of the 35^th anniversary of the Kirby franchise, the Switch received Kirby Return To Dreamland Deluxe! This upgrade for the Wii title will let you control Kirby, Bandana Dee, King Dedede and Meta Knight as you go on an adventure to get a new friend back to their home!

Plus, there will be plenty of minigames awaiting you that you can play with friends to up the ante!

#5 Minecraft Legends

• Developer: Mojang Studios
• Publisher: Blackbird Interactive
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
• Release date: April 18, 2023

Developed by Mojang Studios itself, Minecraft Legends takes the charming pixelated franchise in a new direction. Whereas Minecraft Dungeons was a Diablo-like dungeon crawler, Minecraft Legends is a real-time strategy game. Its take on the genre appeals to a wider audience with its more action-focused design. Rather than commanding squads of units from an overhead perspective, players take direct third-person control of a leader. Pikmin is the closest point of comparison. Luckily, Minecraft Legends offers both co-op and competitive multiplayer modes.

#4 Voidtrain

• Developer: HypeTrain Digital
• Publisher: HypeTrain Digital
• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
• Release date: May 9, 2023

Voidtrain is a survival game with a massive curveball thrown in. It is called Voidtrain because you’re travelling along on a train, which must be led across the endless intermindensional void in search of train upgrades. This journey involves first-person combat and navigation in which you detach from the train to explore the surrounding scenery. At points, you’ll navigate tangible spaces. Other times, you’re precariously grappling between random floating objects. Each journey is also procedurally generated, which could offer interesting scenarious considering the setting.

#3 Techtonica

• Developer: Fire Hose Games
• Publisher: Fire Hose Games
• Platforms: PC
• Release date: July 18, 2023

Techtonica is a co-op base building simulation, in which players build factories underneath the surface of an alien planet. Because all of this takes place below the planet’s surface, molding the terrain will become a core part of managing your ever-evolving production lines or just to modify the scenery. The setting also means you’ll spend quite a bit of time mining for resources to invest within your factories. For those that are interested, Techtonica supports up to four players online.

#2 Gatewalkers

• Developer: A2 Softworks
• Publisher: A2 Softworks
• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
• Release date: Jan 12, 2023

So many co-op games nowadays either fall under the shooter or first-person survival/crafting label. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with either direction, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see a co-operative action RPG. This isn’t attempted very often because the genre doesn’t usually lend itself to multiplayer game design. In Gatewalkers‘ case, the development team opted for a top-down perspective in which worlds are procedurally generated. Combined with survival mechanics such as harsh weather conditions, Gatewalkers will force friends to work together. There are also no predefined character classes, with an emphasis on constantly altering your build.

#1 Sons of the Forest

• Developer: Endnight Games
• Publisher: Endnight Games
• Platforms: PC
• Release: February 23, 2023

In Sons of the Forest, you’ll be tasked with a mission to go to an island to find a billionaire that was lost. But what immediately becomes clear is that this island is one that no man should step onto.

One of the things that you’ll immediately notice about Sons of the Forest is the fact that the game gives you total freedom on what to do, where to go, and how to survive. You can explore the entire island at will, or, go and immediately make a shelter for you to try and survive in.

The game gives you the freedom to do what you want, but doesn’t hold back on the difficulty either, as you’ll have plenty of threats as you traverse this “paradise”…

Disclaimer: This article was updated on 11/2/23 as we continue to adjust this list with new entries or remove games due to delays or failure to captivate audiences.