Best PS5 Co-op Games to Play With Friends in 2026

The best PS5 co-op games in 2026 fall into two camps: couch (split-screen) co-op you play side by side — like It Takes Two, Sackboy and Overcooked — and online co-op such as Helldivers 2, Remnant II and Baldur's Gate 3. Below we break down the best co-op games on PS5 by group size and show how to find each one cheap, plus which are already free in your PS Plus library.

What Makes a Great Co-op PS5 Game

Not every game with a multiplayer mode earns the co-op label. The best ones are designed around the premise — playing with a partner or a group changes the experience rather than duplicating it. Key things to check before buying:

• Local or online? Couch split-screen has become rare in AAA releases but persists in indie and mid-budget titles.
• Friend's Pass — some games let one owner invite a friend to play for free. It Takes Two and A Way Out both include this, effectively halving the cost.
• Player count — two-player co-op, four-player parties, and large-squad games require different setups and different levels of scheduling commitment.
• Cross-gen play — many PS4 co-op games run on PS5 via backwards compatibility, and some support cross-gen online play between PS4 and PS5 owners.

Couch vs Online Co-op: Which Should You Pick?

The first question to answer is not which game but how you will actually play. The two formats suit very different situations, and buying the wrong one is the most common co-op mistake.

Couch (split-screen / shared-screen) co-op means two or more people in the same room, on one PS5. No second console, no subscription for local play, no scheduling. It is the most reliable way to play with a partner, a child, or a friend who is visiting. The trade-off is that shared-screen games tend to be shorter and more focused, and AAA studios rarely build them anymore — you are mostly choosing from indie and mid-budget titles.

Online co-op means each player has their own console and copy (with a few Friend's Pass exceptions), and you connect over the internet. This opens up the biggest, longest-running co-op games — squad shooters, looter-RPGs, survival sandboxes — but it requires every player to own the game, hold a PS Plus subscription for non-free-to-play titles, and find a shared time to play.

A simple rule: if the people you play with live with you or visit often, prioritise couch co-op. If your group is spread across cities, online co-op is the only realistic option, so budget for multiple copies and subscriptions. Many of the best games — It Takes Two, A Way Out, Borderlands 3 — support both, which makes them the safest first purchase.

Best Split-Screen and Couch Co-op PS5 Games

Couch co-op — two or more people on the same television — has made a genuine comeback, driven largely by indie and mid-budget publishers.

It Takes Two remains the definitive couch or online co-op game on PlayStation. A puzzle-platformer that redesigns itself chapter by chapter, it includes a Friend's Pass so only one person needs to own it. It appears regularly in PlayStation Store sales well below its original price.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure supports up to four local players. Levels are built around solo play but co-op adds bonus objectives and score challenges; it is one of the most accessible PS5 titles and a strong pick for mixed-skill or family groups.

Overcooked! All You Can Eat packs both Overcooked games and their DLC into a single release. Four-player local co-op, constant communication required, and the kind of organised chaos that works with any age group.

Unravel Two (PS4, playable on PS5) is a gentle two-player platformer where the two characters are physically connected by a yarn thread. It has been available for under $5 / £4 in multiple sales and is an excellent low-cost co-op entry point.

Moving Out is a physics-based furniture-removal comedy for up to four local players. Carrying a sofa through a doorway becomes a genuine team exercise, and the deliberately clumsy controls turn simple tasks into laughter. Like Overcooked, it is built for shared-screen chaos and works across a wide age range.

Minecraft supports split-screen on PS5 (subject to display resolution) as well as online play, and remains one of the most flexible couch games in existence — build, survive, or explore together with no fixed goal. Its enormous longevity makes it a low-risk family purchase.

LEGO games — the long-running series including LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the various LEGO Marvel, Harry Potter and Jurassic titles — are built around drop-in/drop-out two-player local co-op. They are forgiving, you cannot truly fail a level, and they suit a parent-and-child pairing better than almost anything else on the platform. Older entries appear in sales very cheaply.

A quick note on split-screen: support varies by game and is not always advertised clearly on the store page. When local shared-screen play matters to you, confirm it on the specific product page before buying rather than assuming a series behaves the same across every entry.

Best Online Co-op PS5 Games

For groups that cannot share a sofa, these online co-op titles are consistently worth the subscription cost they require.

Helldivers 2 is the standout online co-op game on PS5. Up to four players drop into procedurally generated missions, managing friendly fire, stratagem cooldowns, and escalating difficulty tiers. The live-service model keeps the meta moving; check current PlayStation Store discounts before buying, as it has remained near full price for extended periods.

Remnant II is a third-person action RPG supporting up to three online players. Its procedurally generated dungeons and boss encounters reward coordination, and it has appeared in PS Plus Extra catalogues as well as showing up in significant store-wide discounts.

Deep Rock Galactic supports four-player online co-op with distinct miner roles — Driller, Scout, Gunner, Engineer. Each role plays completely differently, which means a group of four rarely feels redundant. It is one of the most cohesive four-player designs of the last several years.

Monster Hunter Wilds supports online hunts for up to four players. Coordinated hunts using complementary weapon types are dramatically more manageable than solo runs, and the gear progression loop sustains hundreds of hours across a group.

Diablo IV supports online co-op for a party of players working through its campaign and endgame together, with loot and difficulty scaling to the group. It is a strong pick for friends who want a long-haul progression game they can return to over many months, and it appears in store discounts after its initial release window.

Gunfire Reborn is a co-op roguelite first-person shooter for a small online party, blending gunplay with run-based upgrades and distinct hero characters. It is usually inexpensive, making it one of the better-value online co-op entries when you want something with high replay value and short session length.

Best PS5 Co-op Games by Genre

Many players search by the kind of game they want rather than by player count. Here are dependable co-op picks broken down by genre.

Co-op Shooters

Helldivers 2 leads the four-player squad-shooter category with its friendly-fire chaos and stratagem teamwork. Borderlands 3 is the go-to looter-shooter for a long campaign with per-player loot scaling. Deep Rock Galactic offers role-based four-player co-op with a strong sense of teamwork, and Gunfire Reborn delivers a lighter, roguelite take for shorter sessions. Between them they cover tactical, loot-driven, role-based and run-based shooter co-op.

Co-op RPGs

Baldur's Gate 3 is the most ambitious co-op RPG on the platform, letting a party play through a full narrative campaign together. Diablo IV covers the action-RPG end with shared loot and scaling, Remnant II blends RPG progression with souls-like combat for a small online team, and Monster Hunter Wilds sits at the hunting-RPG intersection where gear progression and coordinated fights reward a committed group.

Co-op Platformers

It Takes Two and Unravel Two are the standout co-op platformers, both built ground-up around two players. Sackboy: A Big Adventure scales from one to four and is the most family-friendly platformer here, while the LEGO series provides accessible, drop-in two-player platforming across dozens of licensed worlds.

Survival and Crafting Co-op

Minecraft is the obvious entry point — endlessly flexible, available local and online, and approachable for any age. Stardew Valley offers a calmer farming-life co-op where a group shares one farm and splits the chores, and Deep Rock Galactic brings a mission-based dig-and-survive loop with procedurally generated caves. These reward groups who enjoy building and managing together rather than racing to an ending.

Party and Couch Co-op

Overcooked! All You Can Eat and Moving Out are the definitive party titles — short, loud, four-player, and forgiving of mixed skill. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge adds a four-player brawler option with quick pick-up-and-play sessions. These are the games to reach for when you want guaranteed fun in a single evening with no commitment.

Best Co-op Games for Two Players

Two-player co-op is the most practical setup — two friends, two controllers, one game. These are the strongest options.

The "PS Plus Needed" column refers to online play. Local shared-screen play never requires a subscription, which is why couch-capable games are marked "Online only" or "No." Where split-screen support is uncertain or varies by entry, confirm it on the specific store page before buying.

A Way Out is from the same developer as It Takes Two and follows two prison escapees across a cinematic story. It requires exactly two players, includes a Friend's Pass, and is now available for very little in PlayStation Store sales. Its genre-switching structure keeps each chapter feeling distinct.

Best Co-op Games for Three to Four Players

Scaling to three or four players is harder to execute well. These titles handle it convincingly.

Baldur's Gate 3 supports up to four players online in full co-op throughout the entire campaign — one of the most ambitious co-op implementations in a game built around single-player choices. Groups can split up, make competing decisions, and face the consequences together. Each player requires their own copy.

Borderlands 3 (with PS5 upgrade) supports four-player co-op with loot and enemy scaling per player. It is among the longest co-op shooters available and appears regularly in sales at steep discounts.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure scales well to four players. The difficulty curve is forgiving enough that a new player will not drag the group down, which makes it one of the few four-player options that genuinely works with mixed experience levels.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is a side-scrolling brawler for up to four players. Sessions run two to three hours, the price is frequently under $15, and it generates consistent enthusiasm from groups who grew up with the licence.

Deep Rock Galactic is the most cohesive four-player design here for groups who want defined roles. Because each of its four classes plays so differently, a full team never feels like four people doing the same job — it is one of the rare four-player games where every seat matters.

Diablo IV suits a group that wants a long-running progression game rather than a one-evening session. A party can level, gear up and tackle the endgame together over weeks or months, with the game scaling difficulty and loot to the number of players.

How to Get the Best PS5 Co-op Games Cheap

Co-op titles have long commercial tails because groups buy them across multiple years. Publishers know they will sell, so launch discounts are uncommon — but patience pays.

1. Wait for seasonal sales — the PlayStation Store runs major discounts in January, summer (June/July), and November. Co-op hits from two or three years back drop significantly.
2. Check price history first — a "50% off" badge may still be above the historical low. The PlatPrices global deals tracker shows what a game has previously sold for across regions.
3. Friend's Pass titles cost half — for It Takes Two and A Way Out, one purchase covers two players. Factor that into any price comparison.
4. Consider PS Plus — major co-op titles rotate through the Extra and Premium catalogues. Use the PS Plus calculator to model whether a subscription pays for itself based on what you would play. Prices vary by region — check the live PS Plus calculator.

Co-op Games and PS Plus

PS Plus Extra (US: $134.99/year) and Premium ($159.99/year) rotate co-op titles in regularly. Games that have appeared in the Extra catalogue include Remnant II, Deep Rock Galactic, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Catalogue availability shifts monthly and differs by region, so check the current PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup rather than relying on any fixed list.

PS Plus Essential ($79.99/year) includes three free monthly games — indie co-op titles appear regularly. The Essential tier also covers the PS Plus requirement for online multiplayer, which applies to all online co-op on PS5 outside of free-to-play titles.

Do You Need PS Plus for Co-op on PS5?

This is the single most-asked co-op question, and the answer depends entirely on how you are playing.

For local, split-screen and couch co-op: no. Two people sharing one PS5 and one screen never need a subscription. This is true for every couch-capable game on the platform — Sackboy, Overcooked, It Takes Two's local mode, LEGO games, Moving Out and the rest. If you only ever play side by side, you can ignore PS Plus entirely.

For online co-op: usually yes. Playing over the internet in a paid game requires at least PS Plus Essential for every participating player. That includes Helldivers 2, Remnant II, Baldur's Gate 3, Deep Rock Galactic, Borderlands 3's online mode and Diablo IV.

The free-to-play exception: genuinely free-to-play online games do not require PS Plus on PS5. If your group mostly plays free-to-play titles, you may not need a subscription at all.

Friend's Pass titles such as It Takes Two and A Way Out let a second player join the owner's session for free via a downloadable companion. The owner still needs the game and, for online play, a subscription — but the invited friend can play without buying a copy, which roughly halves the total cost for a duo. Before committing to a subscription, use the PS Plus calculator to weigh the annual cost against how much online co-op you will realistically play.

Cross-Play and Cross-Gen Co-op

Two related but distinct features matter when your group is spread across different hardware.

Cross-gen means PS4 and PS5 owners can play together. Many co-op games released across both generations support this — but not all, so it is worth confirming on the specific game before buying separate copies for friends on different consoles. A large portion of the PS4 co-op back catalogue also runs on PS5 through backwards compatibility, which means an older couch game your friend already owns will usually work on a newer console.

Cross-play means players on PlayStation can play with people on other platforms entirely, such as PC. Several modern co-op games support cross-play, which dramatically widens the pool of people you can squad up with — important for online-only titles where you need a full group. Cross-play support has grown over the past few years but is still title-specific, so check each game's features rather than assuming.

The practical takeaway: if your friends are not all on PS5, look for both labels on the store page. A game that supports cross-play and cross-gen lets the whole group play together regardless of hardware, and saves you from buying duplicate copies on the wrong system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do PS5 co-op games support split-screen?

Not all of them. Split-screen has become less common in AAA releases. Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Overcooked! All You Can Eat, and It Takes Two all support local play; check each game's store page to confirm before buying.

Can PS4 and PS5 players play co-op together?

Many titles support cross-generation online play, including Helldivers 2 and Borderlands 3, but it is not universal. If one player is on PS4 and another on PS5, verify the specific game's cross-gen policy before purchasing separate copies.

Do I need PS Plus to play co-op on PS5?

PS Plus Essential or above is required for online multiplayer on PS5, with a small number of free-to-play exceptions. Local couch co-op never requires a subscription — two people on the same console can always play together without one.

Is It Takes Two still worth buying in 2026?

Yes. The game has aged well, includes a Friend's Pass, and regularly sells for under $15. For two-player co-op specifically, it remains the most mechanically varied and consistently recommended option on PlayStation.

What are the best split-screen PS5 games?

For shared-screen play on one console, the strongest picks are Sackboy: A Big Adventure (up to four local), Overcooked! All You Can Eat and Moving Out (party chaos for up to four), It Takes Two and Unravel Two (two-player), and the LEGO series for a forgiving parent-and-child option. Minecraft also supports split-screen depending on display settings. Always confirm local support on the game's store page, as it varies between titles.

What are the best two-player PS5 games?

It Takes Two and A Way Out are the top two-player co-op games because each is designed strictly around a pair and includes a Friend's Pass, so only one copy is needed. Unravel Two is the best low-cost duo option, and Remnant II and Helldivers 2 both work well as a two-player team even though they support larger groups.

What are the best four-player co-op games on PS5?

Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic and Borderlands 3 lead for four-player online squads, Baldur's Gate 3 is the most ambitious four-player campaign RPG, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Overcooked! All You Can Eat and Moving Out are the best four-player couch and party games for mixed-skill groups.

Do co-op games need PS Plus?

Local couch co-op never needs PS Plus. Online co-op in a paid game does require PS Plus Essential or higher for each player, with genuinely free-to-play games being the main exception. Friend's Pass titles let an invited friend join without buying the game, but online still needs a subscription for the participants.

What are the cheapest PS5 co-op games?

Unravel Two is one of the cheapest, frequently dropping under $5 / £4, and older LEGO games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge also reach low prices in sales. Gunfire Reborn is usually inexpensive at full price. Friend's Pass games like It Takes Two effectively halve the cost for a duo. Check price history on the PlatPrices global deals tracker so a sale badge does not hide a price that is still above the historical low.

Are there good free co-op games on PS5?

Yes. Several free-to-play titles include online co-op and do not require PS Plus on PS5. They are a good way for a spread-out group to play together at no upfront cost. Availability changes over time, so browse the store's free-to-play section for the current lineup.

The PS5's co-op library covers every group size and budget — browse the live deals tracker to catch the best prices before they expire.