The Best Co-Op Open-World Games, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Co-op has been undervalued in recent years, with split-screen gaming becoming an afterthought.
• Open-world co-op is rare, but games like
  Palworld
  offer successful experiences.
• Titles like Valheim and Forza Horizon 5 highlight the importance of co-op in open worlds.

In recent years, co-op has been left behind by the gaming industry. There was a time when split-screen gaming was an essential part of any game’s design, but lately, it has been treated less like a feature and more like an addition, an afterthought for once the single-player campaign and online multiplayer components have been completed. While some games like It Takes Two have made co-op their selling point, overall, cooperative play has become a dying art.

Open-world co-op is even harder to come by. While Battle Royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Warzone are designed around the idea of squads (which lend themselves to party play), they take place in enclosed arenas. Granting players the freedom an open world provides while still allowing them to team up with their friends to explore it is a tall order, especially when those games typically need to use perspective tricks to hide their loading screens. That’s a hefty task when dealing with more than one perspective. Some games have pulled it off though, and on occasion, it’s been a huge success.

Updated on November 22, 2024, by Evan Regan: In the last year, there have been a handful of unexpected hits in the open-world co-op scene; in particular, the arrival of Palworld. This Pokemon-inspired survival game took the world by storm, and despite its controversies—both public and legal—it remains extremely popular following its console launch. This List has been updated to include Palworld, as well as a few other co-op open-world games worthy of note, providing intrepid co-op players with even more options for vast worlds to explore with their friends.

17 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora

Explore The Beauty Of Pandora As A Pair

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is probably not the first game players think of when they’re looking for co-op. It’s an open-world Ubisoft game, which are traditionally well-known for being mainly single-player experiences, but in this case, two players can take on the RDA together in this stunning video game.

In order to access co-op, both players need to complete the first four main missions of the campaign, ending with a quest called “The Aranahe Clan.” After this point, a “Co-Op” option will appear in the game’s System Settings menu. From here, players can invite anyone on their friends list (who also owns the game) to join them on Pandora, allowing them to clear out RDA Outposts and Mining Installations together, as well as tackle quests.

16 Saint’s Row 4

The Peak Of The Series’ Satirical Format Is Best Enjoyed Alongside People You Can Laugh With

While not everyone will agree that Saint’s Row 4 is the series’ best entry, it’s unquestionably the most modern entry in the series—barring the 2022 reboot that was missing every aspect that made the original games special. This series is at its best when the satirical self-referencing and absurdist comedy are cranked to 11, and this entry, where the main character is elected President before being trapped in a simulation, has all of that in spades.

The entire campaign can be played in co-op with two players. Characters can be imported into other players’ games with all their customizations and stats, allowing players to share their hilarious and zany self-expression with each other. They can also matchmake and join a stranger’s game, although the server population currently isn’t what it once was in 2013.

15 Dying Light

Open-World Parkour Is Better As A Team

Zombie survival and co-op have gone hand in hand for ages, dating back to the original Left 4 Dead and Dead Island games. However, few games capture the feeling of surviving (and thriving) in a zombie apocalypse quite like the Dying Light series.

The parkour mechanics are what truly elevate this franchise, and they do the same for the co-op gameplay. Players can take on missions together and approach them from vastly different angles. They can race up tall structures or through the streets, try to rack up a kill count or see who can survive the longest at night. The variety of builds offered makes combat different for every player who approaches it and allows for some cool synergies between teammates.

14 Palworld

Collect Pals With Friends, And Collect Friends With Pals

While the comparisons to Pokemon will never go away, the fact is that, outside the superficial monster-hunting aspects that the two games share, Palworld is otherwise an entirely different game. This is an open-world survival game and a third-person shooter. Players seek out and collect Pals to join them in battle or to send them home so they can be put to work on the player’s base.

There is, naturally, also the option for co-op. Players can invite up to three friends to join them in the game world. They can explore together, tackle missions, work on a shared base, or trade Pals among themselves. Players just need to enable multiplayer mode in the World Settings, after which they can invite anyone with whom they share their server code.

13 Valheim

2021’s Hit Survival Sandbox Features Up To 10-Player Co-Op

It’s been a minute since Valheim took the world by storm in early 2021, but while the hype may have died down, the game itself remains as excellent as ever. The Norse-inspired world is deeply engrossing, the combat is surprisingly satisfying despite its outward appearances, and the settlement-building component places an urgency on teamwork that few other games can mimic.

While word of mouth may not be as strong as it was in the beginning, Valheim has maintained a consistent player base throughout the last few years. It’s seeing more monthly players now than ever before. With co-op baked into its very bones, whether they’re building a settlement from the dirt up, charging into Purgatory, or tackling one of Valheim’s terrifying bosses, this game is an experience best enjoyed with friends.

12 Deep Rock Galactic

Rock and Stone, brother! Rock and Stone! Sci-fi dwarven mining sims aren’t exactly a common sight in the gaming sphere, and Deep Rock Galactic stands out for that reason alone. As a team of up to four, players descend into a procedurally generated alien mine, using weapons far more potent than Minecraft Steve’s pickaxe to blast away the surrounding rock and find valuable minerals.

While there is certainly some cathartic joy in blowing through the walls of a level and raking in loot, the real fun comes when players decide to extract. The team will have to make a wholesale sprint back to the entrance of the mine while being chased by alien monsters and goaded by a rapidly decreasing countdown. They all have access to class-specific gear that will make the ascent go more smoothly, but teamwork is still essential in beating out the clock.

11 Sons Of The Forest

The Sequel To An Iconic Survival Game Features More Horror And More Co-Op

The Forest was one of the better indie releases to launch in 2014, and the developers have been hard at work to bring its sequel to life. Sons of the Forest is the game that many hopeful cooperative open-world fans have been waiting for. The release takes the gritty, horror-inspired survival overtones of the original game and amps them up by adding even more monstrous beings and creepy areas to explore.

Players will be forced to contend with cannibalistic creatures as they monitor their food and water supplies, building structures to keep out of harm’s way while simultaneously exploring a large island teeming with all sorts of hidden gadgets and useful items. Sons of the Forest greatly improves on the original game while still maintaining the same feeling and gameplay that made the original such a cult classic. Those who are looking for a good horror-survival title—emphasis on “survival”—will find a lot to enjoy with Sons of the Forest, which will let them build bases together, survive cannibal onslaughts, and explore freely as a team.

10 Dead Island 2

Zombie Bashing With Friends Has Never Been Gorier

The original Dead Island was a huge hit right at the apex of the zombie craze in the early-2010s. The visceral first-person melee combat and array of campy-but-brutal weaponry fed into the zombie survivalist fantasy that so few games had managed to capture. Dead Island 2 was announced three years later at E3, and then vanished without a peep for eight years before resurfacing at Gamescom in 2022.

While it was a long time coming, the game that eventually found its way into players’ hands was the perfect sequel. All the campiness and brutality were there, but both were given a healthy jolt by the power of modern hardware. Kills are more gory, zombies are more decayed, and the open world is more detailed. Just like the first game, Dead Island 2’s campaign is 99% co-op friendly. Players just have to unlock it by reaching Emma’s mansion, about 20 minutes into the game.

9 V Rising

Being A Creature Of The Night Is Lonely Without Friends

Amazingly, a game like V Rising has never been made before. This is an online open-world survival game where players create their very own newly awakened vampires. They must build a castle to act as their home base, regularly consume blood, and avoid the sunlight (and garlic). It’s as much a vampire RPG as it is a survival game, and it boasts some top-notch combat and boss battles to boot.

Even better, the whole thing can be played with friends. Two vampires can set up in a single castle, or a wholesale vampire clan can form and take over an entire region of the map. Players can also start their own servers so that they can contribute to their castle at different times, rather than all having to be online at once. It’s a really welcoming co-op experience that doesn’t ask for too much to be enjoyable.

8 Sea Of Thieves

Form A Pirate Crew Of Friends And Sail The Seas

While Sea of Thieves’ launch may not have gone exactly to plan, developer Rare stuck to their guns, and in short order, the game was succeeding at exactly what it set out to do. While this seafaring pirate sim can be tackled solo, it’s no substitute for sailing the high seas with a crew of friends.

It’s hard to convey the feeling of tension players feel when an enemy crew boards their ship while a hoard of treasure sits just below decks, or the joy of surviving a battle with the devilish kraken. The game’s art style and unique combat mechanics are what make it stand out, but players who dive in will quickly learn that it’s the island-hopping, treasure hunting, and naval warfare that will keep them coming back.

7 Minecraft

Crafting With Friends

While not exactly a “traditional” co-op experience, it’s hard to rank the best open-world co-op games and not include Minecraft in the discussion. The game’s procedurally generated worlds make for the perfect playground for a group of friends to dive into.

While it’s not as deep from a co-op perspective as some of the games coming up, a few friends being able to tackle Survival mode together certainly makes it stand out. Or, get a couple of people together who know what they’re doing, and the things they can create from scratch are nothing short of magical.

6 Forza Horizon 5

Explore Open-World Mexico With Some Racing Buddies

Co-op doesn’t always have to be about teaming up with friends to take out the strongest enemies. Sometimes, the best times are had by diving into a vast, open playground and having all the toys necessary to make the most of it. That’s Forza Horizon 5.

Players can race each other across the wide expanse of open-world Mexico, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Try to hit the longest jump, knock that hot air balloon out of the sky, scale a volcano, or discover a hidden city. What makes the game special is that it’s not just a racing sim; it’s a racing playground, one best explored in a group.

5 Borderlands

This Iconic Looter-Shooter Just Isn’t The Same When Playing Solo

The franchise that pioneered the looter-shooter genre also continues to stand atop that genre, in large part because of just how fun it is to play with friends. Borderlands at its core is a first-person shooter with a bit of style and a ton of customization, but it feels like so much more while playing it.

What may look like a regular shooter from the outside is elevated by the variety of its playable characters, the uniqueness of its world design, and most of all, the freaking guns. Millions of them, of all shapes, sizes, and varieties. The loot in Borderlands is so expansive that no two players will ever have the same experience playing it. Which entry in the franchise is the best comes down to the dealer’s choice. They’re all good, all for the same reason. Lots of crazy guns.

4 Diablo 4

Some Of The Best Co-Op Integration In The Industry

Still fairly new in the gaming market, there is little doubt about where Diablo 4 stands in terms of the co-op pantheon. Diablo 2 was already one of the better co-op RPGs around, but its modern-day sequel takes things to a completely new level.

What makes the game sing is its level scaling, which adapts perfectly to each player in a party regardless of their character’s level. A level 20 Druid and a level 60 Rogue can take on a boss together and both feel equally challenged. Add to that the synergy between classes, and the effortless skill respec system, and Diablo 4 is an almost perfect co-op experience.

3 Monster Hunter World

Monsters This Big Require Multiple Hunters To Take Down

For a long time, Capcom struggled to get their Monster Hunter franchise to catch on in the West the way it had in Japan. That all changed with Monster Hunter World. Finally, gamers around the world saw what a small, vocal group had been raving about for over a decade.

The game’s combat retains the steep learning curve that existed in previous entries but brings with it several massive open biomes for the player to explore where monsters roam freely. There are few feelings more exhilarating than working with a friend to lure a Bazelgeuse into a trap, or wearing down an Anjanath with an Insect Glaive before stunning it with a slam from a friend’s Charge Blade. Part of the experience is tackling a massive, seemingly insurmountable challenge and coming away not only victorious but with the spoils of the hunt.

2 Elden Ring

Exploring The Lands Between With Friends Is Unlike Anything Else In Gaming

To be completely fair, every game in the Soulsborne series (besides Sekiro) has fantastic co-op, but since Elden Ring is the first fully-fledged open-world game in the “series,” that elevates it above its peers. FromSoftware’s unique take on co-op can be a bit hard to parse for newcomers, but the wealth of information online should get them started, and the extra effort is so worth it.

Exploring The Lands Between with friends is a transcendent experience. There’s just so much to do, and all of it is drenched in the feeling of mystery and danger that permeates every aspect of the game. Take on a dungeon or a boss wandering in the open world, fight through the game’s extensive main campaign, track down new gear and items, or farm for Runes. There’s an endless list of things to do, and all of it is an absolute joy to share with some friends.

1 Grand Theft Auto Online

The Most Robust Open-World Co-Op Ever Made

There’s no other choice here. As far as “robust open worlds” go, Grand Theft Auto Online has been around for almost a decade and still nothing compares. The game’s online component is just as popular now as it was when it launched, if not more so, and players can jump into it with their friends occasionally, or every day, and still have a great time.

The longevity of this game alone speaks volumes, but it’s the ease with which players can create their gang and quickly solidify their place in the game’s world that’s truly remarkable. Take on a Criminal Career, tackle missions, or just mess around in the endlessly responsive open world; it’s all a blast. Rockstar continues to release substantial updates to the game, which just confirms how active their player base still is after all this time.