My friend group has one PS5, two Xbox owners, a Switch loyalist, and someone who refuses to leave PC — every group chat about “what should we play tonight” turns into a stalemate. That’s exactly the problem this list solves.
I’ve pulled together 30 multiplayer games worth your time, sorted properly by platform — PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch, mobile and VR — with genuinely different picks for each rather than the same five names recycled six times.
By the end, you’ll know exactly what fits your platform, your group size, and how much time you’ve actually got to give it.
| Platform | Standout Pick | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| PC | Deep Rock Galactic | Co-op mining chaos with friends |
| PS5 | Helldivers 2 | Squad-based satire and mayhem |
| Xbox | Sea of Thieves | Open-world pirate co-op |
| Switch | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Local and online party racing |
| Mobile | Among Us | Social deduction with friends |
| VR | VRChat | Free, cross-platform social play |
That table is a snapshot, not the full picture — each platform below has five genuinely different games, not just reskins of the same battle royale.
Why Multiplayer Games Are Fun To Play?
Multiplayer games are fun because they turn a fixed set of rules into something unpredictable — your opponents or teammates react, adapt, and surprise you in ways scripted AI never can. That unpredictability, combined with shared wins and losses, is what keeps people coming back long after the credits would have rolled on a single-player game.
What makes multiplayer stick:
- Shared memory-making — the in-jokes and clutch moments you only get from playing with real people
- Genuine unpredictability, since no two matches or sessions play out the same way
- Social accountability, which keeps you playing longer than you might solo
- Skill progression against real opponents, which single-player AI rarely replicates
This is also why the genre spans so much ground, from five-minute competitive shooter rounds to hundred-hour co-op survival worlds.
The “why” behind the fun changes depending on what you’re playing and who you’re playing with, which is exactly what the next section helps you work out.
Best Multiplayer Games
These are genuine, platform-specific picks — not the same handful of names stretched across six lists. Each platform’s strengths shape which games actually belong here.
Mobile Multiplayer Games
- Call of Duty: Mobile — a full FPS experience condensed onto a phone, combining traditional multiplayer modes with battle royale and ranked play.
- Brawl Stars — fast three-minute team brawls that reward quick reflexes over long grinds, ideal for short sessions with friends.
- Stumble Guys — a chaotic battle-royale obstacle-course game that’s easy to pick up and genuinely funny in a group call.
- Pokémon UNITE — a simplified MOBA built around 5v5 team objectives, a good entry point if traditional MOBAs feel too dense.
- Among Us—I can still clearly recall the period when COVID-19 struck and lockdowns forced everything to close. I downloaded this game with my friends, and we spent the entire day playing it without getting bored.
PS5 Multiplayer Games
- Helldivers 2 — squad-based third-person shooter with a satirical tone, built almost entirely around coordinated team play against overwhelming enemy waves.
- Destiny 2 — a looter-shooter with some of the tightest gunplay on console, and raids with a dedicated fireteam remain one of the best structured co-op experiences on PS5.
- Final Fantasy XIV — the only MMO on this list, with dungeons and raids built as genuine group activities rather than optional extras; the new-player curve is steep, but the payoff is real.
- EA Sports FC 26 — the go-to football multiplayer pick on PS5, including a 5v5 Rush mode for smaller squads.
- As Dusk Falls — a narrative multiplayer game with a voting system letting each player shape how the story unfolds, a strong pick for a group that wants something other than combat.
VR Multiplayer Games
- Gorilla Tag — a free, physical movement-based multiplayer game where you climb and swing using your own arms, simple to learn and one of the most-played social VR titles going.
- Population: One — a battle royale built specifically for VR movement, with climbing and flying mechanics that flat-screen shooters can’t replicate.
- Walkabout Mini Golf — supports up to eight players cross-platform, has almost no motion-sickness risk, and is genuinely one of the easiest ways to introduce someone to VR.
- Pavlov VR — the closest VR gets to a competitive tactical shooter, available on PCVR and PSVR2 with a dedicated ranked community.
- VRChat — less a game than a social platform, built around user-created avatars and worlds, and still the deepest cross-platform social VR space going.
Xbox Multiplayer Games
- Sea of Thieves — a shared-world pirate adventure with full crossplay across Xbox, PC, and cloud, and one of the best “just mess about with friends” games on the platform.
- It Takes Two — a two-player-only co-op adventure built entirely around split-screen teamwork and puzzle-solving, widely regarded as one of the best co-op games of the last few years.
- Forza Horizon 6 — an open-world racing game built around shared Convoys, cooperative activities and multiplayer events.
- Dead by Daylight — a 4v1 asymmetric horror game with full crossplay, where four survivors try to escape a single player-controlled killer.
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection — six Halo games in one package, with online multiplayer that’s had years of fixes and remains a genuine competitive staple on Xbox.
Switch Multiplayer Games
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — Nintendo’s flagship multiplayer racer, with local play, wireless multiplayer and online races for up to 12 players.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — over 80 fighters and 100+ stages, supporting local and wireless play for up to 8 people, still Switch’s benchmark party fighter.
- Splatoon 3 — fast, colourful team-based shooter combat that’s distinctly Nintendo and genuinely competitive at higher levels.
- Overcooked! 2 — chaotic co-op kitchen management that demands real communication, and one of the easiest games to teach a non-gamer in five minutes.
- Minecraft — I’ve played this one myself, and what struck me is how little it asks you to “win” at anything. You build, survive the first night, and two weeks later there’s a shared world your whole group keeps quietly returning to — that slow, low-pressure pull is a different kind of multiplayer entirely, and Switch handles it fine even if it’s not the most technically polished port.
PC Multiplayer Games
- Deep Rock Galactic — four-player co-op mining and combat in procedurally generated caves, with a genuinely strong sense of teamwork built into the class system.
- Counter-Strike 2 — the long-running benchmark for competitive tactical shooters on PC, still drawing serious ranked and esports attention.
- Valheim — Viking-themed survival crafting built for small groups, with a slower, more atmospheric pace than most survival games.
- Human: Fall Flat — I played this with friends and it’s one of the funniest co-op games I’ve come across — wobbly physics-based puzzle-solving where half the fun is watching everyone fail together, not the puzzles themselves.
- Grand Theft Auto Online — I’ve spent a good chunk of time in GTA Online, and even years on, the open-world freedom, from heists to races to just causing chaos with friends, still holds up as one of PC’s most enduring multiplayer sandboxes.
For a broader look at what else is worth playing on PC beyond multiplayer, our best PC games guide rounds up the platform’s strongest titles overall. If co-op is specifically your thing, our best co-op games guide covers more ground than this list has room for.
How To Choose Multiplayer Games?
Choosing the right multiplayer game comes down to matching the game to your group size, your available time, and whether you want competition or cooperation. A twenty-minute battle royale round suits a different mood than a hundred-hour co-op survival world, so start with how you actually want to spend your time before picking a genre.
What to consider before picking:
- Group size — some games are built for duos, others need a full squad to click
- Session length — quick competitive rounds versus long-form co-op campaigns
- Platform and cross-play — check whether your friend group is split across consoles
- Cost — free-to-play, one-time purchase, or a live-service game with ongoing spend
- Skill floor — some titles punish new players harshly, others ease you in
Things To Consider Before Choosing:
- Live-service games can shut down or lose support, taking your progress with them
- Not every “multiplayer” tag means genuine cross-play with friends on other platforms
- Free-to-play doesn’t always mean fair — check for pay-to-win mechanics before committing
Which Multiplayer Games Are Best For You?
| If you want… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Quick matches | Brawl Stars |
| Four-player co-op | Deep Rock Galactic |
| Couch multiplayer | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
| Long-term progression | Final Fantasy XIV |
| Cross-platform play | Sea of Thieves |
| Casual social play | Among Us |
| Competitive FPS | Counter-Strike 2 |
| Survival co-op | Valheim |
People Also Ask About Multiplayer Games
Local, no-internet multiplayer is still alive on games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Overcooked! 2, all of which support split-screen or same-console local play. They’re ideal for couch sessions where you don’t want to rely on a connection.
Fortnite, Rocket League, Brawl Stars, and Among Us are all free-to-play with no mandatory purchases to access core multiplayer modes. Cosmetic-only monetisation keeps most of these fair rather than pay-to-win.
Roblox hosts thousands of user-made multiplayer experiences, with titles like Blox Fruits, Adopt Me!, and various tycoon and obby (obstacle course) games consistently drawing the largest concurrent player counts. Popularity shifts often, so check current player numbers in-platform before committing.
Sea of Thieves, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Palworld, and Forza Horizon 6 are all currently included with Xbox Game Pass subscriptions and support online multiplayer or co-op. Game Pass tier matters here — check whether your subscription level includes the title before assuming access.
Final Answer for The Best Multiplayer Games
There’s no single “best” multiplayer game — only the best one for your platform, your group, and how much time you’ve got. What ties every pick on this list together is longevity: these are games people keep coming back to, not ones that peak in the first week. Start with whichever platform section matches your setup, pick one that fits your group size and session length, and go from there. If you want more, our best free Steam games and best indie games guides are good next stops for expanding your library without expanding your budget.