The 8 best cooperative games for this summer 2026

You have two weeks of vacation, a friend connected on Discord, and nothing planned for tonight. That's the basics. Now, the question: what do we play? Because between recent releases and the gems we might have missed, the co-op catalog in 2026 has become quite monstrous.

We've sorted it out for you. No unreadable top 50 - just 8 games we've actually played and that work well in multiplayer. From big AAA titles to small indie games for 8 bucks, there's a bit of everything. And most importantly, there are screenshots for each game, because it's still better to see what it looks like before spending your money.

Click to enlarge

Released on May 14, 2026 in Early Access, Subnautica 2 is the Current popular co-op game. Up to 4 players in an alien ocean, with base building, crafting, and creatures that are scary when you go too deep. Unknown Worlds has finally integrated the multiplayer mode that everyone has been asking for since the first game.

The thing that changes everything compared to solo: building a base together is satisfying as can be. A buddy managing the solar panels while you dive 500m deep to find lithium. And when a Reaper Leviathan shows up, the screams in the voice chat are priceless.

• Players — 1 to 4 in online co-op
• Platforms — PC (Steam, Epic), Xbox Series X|S
• Price — ~30€ (Early Access)
• For whom? — Exploration and survival fans who want to share the pressure of the depths

Attention, this is Early Access: there are bugs, optimizations to come, and the content is not complete. But the foundation is solid and it's definitely worth checking out this summer.

Click to enlarge

Hazelight Studios. They are the guys behind It Takes Two and A Way Out. With each game, they push the concept of narrative co-op. And Split Fiction, released in March 2025, is probably their best .

Mio writes sci-fi, Zoe writes fantasy. They find themselves stuck in a simulation that mixes their worlds. The result: you go from a medieval castle to a cyberpunk city in 30 seconds, and each transition brings a new gameplay mechanic. It's pure level design genius.

The Friend Pass is here — only one copy of the game is enough to play online together. Honestly, if you have a buddy and you haven't tried Split Fiction yet, it's the game of this summer. 15-20h of campaign, no downtime.

• Players — 2 (mandatory coop, local or online)
• Platforms — PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
• Price — ~40€
• For whom? — Everyone, seriously. It's accessible and brilliant.

Click to enlarge

96% of positive reviews on Steam, over 133,000 reviews. R.E.P.O. arrived in February 2025 like a cannonball in the horror coop category. The idea: you work for a greedy boss, you have to retrieve valuable items in creepy environments, and above all, not break them while transporting them.

Because yes, loot is physical. You carry a piano and your buddy bumps into you? The piano breaks. Its value drops. And meanwhile, monsters show up — except here, you can kill them and collect orbs to sell. It's the perfect mix of tension and total chaos.

Up to 6 players with nearby voice chat. Laughter is guaranteed. At 8€, it's probably the best pleasure/price ratio on the market right now.

• Players — 1 to 6 in online co-op
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)
• Price — ~8€
• For whom? — The groups of friends who like to shout on Discord at 2 in the morning

Click to enlarge

PEAK, that's the kind of game that looks stupid on paper and steals 50 hours from you. Your plane crashes on an island, you have to climb a procedural mountain with up to 3 buddies. Climbing is based on stamina, food, and the weight of your bag. And the mountain changes every 24h.

Four biomes to cross — the beach, the tropical jungle, the frozen alpine zone, and the volcanic crater. With your buddies, you climb up, you plant pitons, you throw ropes. Or you throw coconuts on your buddy's head and he falls from 200 meters. Both options are valid.

The proximity voice chat adds a layer of chaos. You hear your buddy calling for help somewhere below, but you don't know exactly where. Published by Landfall (the guys from Totally Accurate Battle Simulator), the tone is perfect: serious enough to make us try to succeed, silly enough to laugh when everything goes haywire.

• Players — 1 to 4 in online co-op
• Platforms — PC
• Price — ~15€
• For whom? — Getting Over It fans who want to share the suffering

Click to enlarge

Tarsier Studios, the creators of the first two Little Nightmares. Just the name of the studio should be enough to convince you. Reanimal was released on February 13, 2026, and it's their first real game with integrated co-op from the start.

One player controls the boy, the other the girl. The atmosphere is dark, the aesthetic under Unreal Engine 5 is beautiful, and the puzzles require real coordination. It's not pure horror like Outlast, it's more an adventure with a oppressive atmosphere Important nuance.

The Friend Pass crossplay is included — your buddy doesn't need to buy the game to play with you online. And a DLC "The Expanded World" is coming this summer. If you liked Little Nightmares and have a patient friend for puzzles, go for it.

• Players — 2 (solo possible also)
• Platforms — PC, PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2
• Price — ~40€
• For whom? — The duos who love creepy atmospheres and clever puzzles

Click to enlarge

Developed by Stoic Studio (the creators of The Banner Saga), Towerborne is a side-scrolling action RPG that has just been released in version 1.0. Up to 4 players, you smash enemies in colorful dungeons with gameplay reminiscent of the good old arcade beat'em up.

The class and loot system makes you want to farm. There's mage, warrior, tank - player synergies are well thought out. It's not super deep, but for 1-2 hour evening sessions, it delivers. And the visual style is frankly pretty.

• Players — 1 to 4 in online co-op
• Platforms — PC, Xbox Series (Game Pass)
• Price — Free-to-play / Game Pass
• For whom? — Castle Crashers nostalgics who want something modern

Click to enlarge

Gearbox released Borderlands 4 in September 2025 and — surprise — it's still Borderlands. It shoots in all directions, there are 47 billion randomly generated weapons, and the humor is still as heavy-handed. But you know what? It still works.

In coop with 4, that's where the game really shines. The builds complement each other, the bosses are tough, and the endgame has enough to keep you busy all summer. The cel-shading is more beautiful than ever and the performance is solid on all three platforms. If you have friends who just want to farm loot while disconnecting their brains, it's a safe bet.

• Players — 1 to 4 (local splitscreen or online)
• Platforms — PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
• Price — ~60-70€
• For whom? — Fans of looter shooters looking for content for 100+ hours

Click to enlarge

Yes, Lethal Company was released at the end of 2023. And no, it's not dead. Zeekerss continues to update it regularly, and the modding community is massive. In 2026, the game has almost doubled its content compared to its release.

The concept still holds: you work for the Company, you land on crappy moons, you pick up scrap metal and try not to die. The proximity voice chat turns every session into an involuntary stand-up. "Where are you?" - "In the dark." - "That doesn't help me." - monster noise - silence.

If you don't know yet, it's time. If you already know, the latest updates have added enough content to dive back in.

• Players — 1 to 4 in online co-op
• Platforms — PC (Early Access)
• Price — ~10€
• For whom? Those who like to scare themselves in a group and die stupidly

Split Fiction, without hesitation. The level design is exceptional, the Friend Pass allows you to play with just one copy of the game, and it's 15-20 hours of pure happiness. Reanimal is also excellent if you prefer something darker.

R.E.P.O. at 8€ and Lethal Company at 10€. Both are phenomena with hundreds of thousands of positive reviews on Steam. For the pleasure/price ratio, there's nothing better.

Yes, but with calibrated expectations. The coop works well, the exploration is beautiful, but the content is not complete and bugs remain. If you're the impatient type, you can wait for the final version (scheduled for early 2028). Otherwise, there's already plenty to have a good summer exploring.

Split Fiction is very accessible, with generous checkpoints and no frustrating game over. PEAK is also a good choice because the controls are simple and the chaotic side makes everyone laugh, even beginners.

Split Fiction, Borderlands 4, and Reanimal are all available on PS5, Xbox, and (for Reanimal) Switch 2. Subnautica 2 is on Xbox but not PS5 at the moment. For couch coop, Borderlands 4 and Towerborne support split screen.