Best Military Multiplayer Games, Ranked

Video games cannot accurately recreate what it is like to be in the military, whether that be in a combat role or a support position that never even has the chance to see or experience violence. Military video games are not necessarily about that, however. The games below take various aspects of the military and conflict and use them as an inspiration for gameplay.

Related

8 Best FPS Games For Both Single-Player And Multiplayer

Whether fans enjoy playing a first-person shooter with their friends or alone, these games have them covered!

The multiplayer is more about having a good time and testing one’s skills either against or with strangers and friends and not about disagreements over land, resources, and ideology. The military aspect of most of these games adds a layer of strategy even in multiplayer that a lot of other titles in similar genres lack. The games listed below fill all of these criteria and offer either competitive or cooperative multiplayer modes. Sometimes they have both.

8

Command And Conquer

A Classic RTS That Still Holds Up

Systems

Released

June 5, 2020

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

A few years after innovating on the RTS with Dune 2, developer Westwood Studios took inspiration from the military for their next entry in the genre. Command and Conquer further refined the RTS experience for smoother gameplay. The game takes place in an alternate history where a valuable resource, Tiberium, has changed the course of humanity from our own.

While this series has a futuristic bent, players can go to the Red Alert series to play through an alternate past. When looking at Command and Conquer through the lens of a war simulator, the multiplayer is fast and exciting, making players focus on both speed and strategy during a match. Click the mouse quickly, but also think carefully about future moves.

7

Rainbow Six: Siege

Test Tactics Against Another Team Of Human Players

After a hiatus, Rainbow Six returned with a multiplayer-only title. Siege focuses on strategy and careful selection of playable characters depending on their unique abilities. Unlike fast-paced multiplayer shooters, team composition is key in Rainbow Siege: Siege.

Related

Rainbow Six Siege: 10 Best Primary Gadgets For Attackers, Ranked

From the Exothermic Charge to the EMP Grenade, these powerful primary gadgets should always be utilized by Attackers.

This makes the game less friendly to a simple pick-up-and-play style, but it also rewards players who invest time and thought into it. Though the game comes at a price, the developers regularly add content to keep those who have been playing since 2017 loyal despite the evergrowing field of online multiplayer titles.

6

Company Of Heroes 3

A Modern RTS With All The Classic Tropes Fans Love

Your changes have been saved

My List

My Favorite Games
My Played Games
My Games Wishlist

Company of Heroes 3

Systems

Released

February 23, 2023

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Modern RTS games are few and far between, but Company of Heroes 3 comes to satisfy fans of the genre. The single-player campaign does not innovate heavily on the series, but that is not important for the purposes of this list.

The multiplayer provides the fast RTS action fans love covered with modern visuals. Though not a must for enjoying a strategy game, the visual flare helps players maintain interest. The destructible environments are particularly impressive, with evidence of a battle showing on partially destroyed buildings.

5

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare

The Ground War Mode Has Huge Battles

It might seem right to put the most modern game on this list, but 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its sequels have the Ground War mode that Treyarch’s titles lack. This mode vastly expands the battlefield and player count, making it a better fit for this list.

In addition to the large teams of 32, players can also use vehicles to aid in battle. This format allows different builds to shine that otherwise feel less useful on the smaller maps.

4

Hell Let Loose

World War 2 Large-Scale Tactical Shooter

This first-person multiplayer game marries RTS elements with the intense, intimate action of first-person shooters. Depending on the game mode, players are either dropped into a 50 or 25-player team.

Related

14 Mistakes Everyone Makes While Playing Hell Let Loose

Hell Let Loose isn’t an easy game, and newer players are prone to some common errors. Here’s how to avoid them.

These are divided into smaller squads that are headed by commanders who have more say as to what goes on on the battlefield. It might seem confusing at first, but the game is good at encouraging players to focus on teamwork and coordination so that battles do not feel like haphazard messes.

3

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

Play Through An Intense Co-Op Campaign With A Friend

It is important to remember that Rainbow Six games had intense single-player campaigns before the series switched to a multiplayer focus. Rainbow Six: Vegas and its sequel, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, let players go through the story cooperatively.

With this mode, friends can strategize together instead of ordering AI around like they would in a Rainbow Six game. This is from a time when military shooters still required patience, accuracy, and tact, so do not expect to go into this game and win using the twitch-shooting reflexes developed from years of Call of Duty.

2

Arma 3

Drop Into A Map And Figure Out The Rest On Your Own

Your changes have been saved

My List

My Favorite Games
My Played Games
My Games Wishlist

Arma 3

Systems

Released

September 12, 2013

Arma 3 drops players into the world, gives them an objective, and then leaves them to figure out the rest for themselves. The same level of player agency also applies to many of the multiplayer modes that have come with the game’s various expansions since 2013.

Arma 3 also has a dedicated community of players who make their own content for the fanbase. The multiplayer can go from small-scale cooperative missions to giant competitive battles with dozens of players on each team.

1

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Open-World Tactical Shooter With Friends

It is no surprise that Ubisoft made Ghost Recon an open-world shooter following the structure they innovated on with Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. Despite the expanded scope, Ghost Recon: Wildlands still maintains the stealth and tactical gameplay for which the series is known.

Players can either go through the game alone with AI companions or team up with friends online to sneak through the open world together. A competitive mode is also available that keeps the team sizes to a small four versus four, still emphasizing the importance of teamwork.

More

6 Best Military RPGs, Ranked

Military settings aren’t the most common in the world of RPGs, but these titles manage to make them shine.