Best Free Co-Op Games On Steam

Co-op has been a staple of gaming for most of the medium’s lifespan, although its prominence can fluctuate from time to time. While arguably associated more with PvP games, the PC scene is certainly no stranger to cooperative games, particularly ones that are played online. Local co-op options can be a bit harder to find since the feature is not typically prioritized on platforms like Steam, but they also exist, and there are some great titles out there.

8 Best Co-Op Games That Support 8 Players, Ranked

These engaging indie games support up to 8-player co-op sessions, ensuring players can craft timeless memories with friends.

When looking for multiplayer games to play with friends, players will likely gravitate either to team-based shooters or MMOs, two genres that have produced more than their fair share of great releases. However, there are plenty of great Steam co-op games that go beyond those categories.

Co-op games that focus on PvP will be largely ignored. Counter-Strike 2 is an example of an omitted game, although modes like Wingman can satisfy players looking for PvP co-op.
While the rankings are mostly based on quality, new additions will be mentioned first for visibility’s sake.

Updated May 20, 2025 by Mark Sammut: April 28 saw the debuts of two free Steam co-op games, and they are both massive open-world gacha titles. One of them is highly regarded but does not prioritize co-op all that much. Conversely, the other project had a rocky Steam launch but features a co-op that fits its gameplay well.
1

Wuthering Waves

Steam User Rating: 89%

Wuthering Waves took quite a while to make its Steam debut, but the delay was worth it since the game is nowadays in a much better state. At launch, Kuro’s project garnered a notably mixed response, with the visuals and gameplay being considered decent but nothing too incredible. While the story is still not great, Wuthering Waves has improved quite a bit and arguably offers the best combat in the gacha genre, along with pretty great traversal. Anybody craving a free-to-play open-world action RPG should give this a try, as they have nothing to lose but time.

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For its co-op, Wuthering Waves allows up to three players to share a world, with one of them acting as a host. They all control one playable character, and having some allies can be useful for taking out bosses (although the game is not really that difficult). Honestly, Wuthering Waves’ co-op is not much of a selling point, especially since players need to reach Union Level 22 just to unlock it. That is a lot of time to invest for people specifically looking to play with friends.
2

Infinity Nikki

Steam User Rating: 54%

Infinity Nikki launched to fairly universal praise at the end of 2024, garnering love for its visuals, cozy gameplay, fairly large open-world, and many adorable costume options. However, the game’s reputation and reception have declined quite a bit since then, and the Steam iteration has specifically attracted quite a lot of criticism. While this version’s April 28, 2025, launch had plenty of issues, it did coincide with the arrival of co-op, one that expands significantly on the game’s multiplayer features. Now, two players can play together by (primarily) entering one of their worlds, a process that involves sending an invitation. Co-op complements Infinity Nikki’s laid-back and relaxed tone, and the feature can make the grind a bit more manageable since both players will receive most things they pick up. That said, co-op is ultimately just another part of the puzzle and will likely not convince people who do not particularly enjoy playing the gacha game solo. Still, Infinity Nikki warrants a mention as it is a fairly unique free co-op Steam game.
3

We Were Here

Steam User Rating: 90%

Following the same thread as innovative puzzle co-op games like Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, We Were Here sees two players lost in a frozen wasteland and separated. The only form of communication they have is through their handheld radio devices. Both players must have working microphones to communicate as they work together through challenging puzzles to reunite. Both players will have an entirely unique gameplay experience. We Were Here is inspired by real-life escape rooms and has three other games in the series if players fancy more thrilling challenges.
4

Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop

Steam User Rating: 94%

Alien Swarm might just be Valve’s most forgotten game, although the 2010 release is by no means bad. In fact, anyone seeking a twin-stick co-op shooter can certainly do worse than this title; however, they should consider jumping into Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop instead of the original game. For one, Reactive Drop is still being updated despite coming out in 2017, which cannot be said for Alien Swarm. Secondly and more importantly, the expansion does exactly what it advertises: improve the base experience.

Best Valve Co-Op Games, Ranked

Working together is a grand joy that many games could learn from, but luckily, Valve has already provided some great co-op experiences.

While not lacking PvP, Reactive Drop is primarily about co-op. 8 players can take on one of the game’s 10+ campaigns, each consisting of a couple of missions. Naturally, the gameplay loop boils down to players going up against wave after wave of enemies while they try to work toward a level’s endpoint. Straightforward as this concept is, Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop manages to incorporate quite a bit of nuance through its classes and tactics-driven gameplay. This is not one of those forgiving games that allow players to effectively disregard the rest of the team as they live out their Rambo fantasy; no, teamwork is necessary for survival.
5

With You

Steam User Rating: 89%

With You is a wholesome cooperative puzzle-platformer game for just two players to enjoy. Together, the couple must collaborate to solve a series of physics and platforming segments through problem-solving, gentle communication, and jumping on each other. Short and sweet, with its intentionally wonky controls, With You resolves to improve the bonds and intimacy between the two players and (quite literally) bring them closer together.
6

Once Human

Steam User Rating: 73%

While hardly flawless, Once Human, an open-world survival game, is nevertheless an outstanding achievement and well worth a download. An alien infestation driven by human corporations has caused corruption to spread across the land, mutating humans, animals, and objects in the process. Meta-humans are in charge of fighting back this chaos, all the while trying to learn who exactly is behind this apocalyptic situation.

Once Human: How to Play With Friends

Once Human’s open-world adventure can be explored with the company of your friends, enabling you to team up and survive together.

As Once Human supports solo play, an argument could be made that this type of survival experience benefits from the sense of isolation presented by a single-player run. However, Starry Studio has implemented both PvP multiplayer and co-op. The former is a mixed bag that can be largely ignored if someone does not want to engage with it, even if they opt to play with other players. Conversely, co-op generally results in a superior experience, even if Once Human’s implementation of the feature leaves something to be desired. Players can set up either a Party, Hive, or Warband, depending on how many friends will be joining the run. While they all have their uses, Hive might be the best option for those who are planning to mostly play together, as it will allow them to effectively run through the campaign as a unit. Once Human can get repetitive at times, an issue that is lessened when a few friends are along for the ride.
7

Muck

Steam User Rating: 93%

Dani’s Muck is just an all-around solid free-to-play sandbox game. While not necessarily pushing the genre forward, it does cover the basics well while providing an enjoyable multiplayer experience. Friends can live together on the same server, seeing how long they can survive on a procedurally generated island as they steadily work towards the campaign’s endpoint (which does exist). Death is permanent in survival mode, so the stakes are fairly high. Despite its vibrant and simple visuals, Muck does not pull all that many punches, and it even has a couple of challenging boss fights. Multiplayer helps ease the difficulty somewhat, but it does not make the game a walk in the park either.
8

No More Room In Hell

Steam User Rating: 89%

No More Room In Hell is a first-person horror game where players can join forces with up to eight others and try to survive the zombie apocalypse with over 30 weapons at their disposal. There is proximity-based voice communication, so the further players are from one another, the harder it is for them to communicate. Taking inspiration from contemporary sources like The Walking Dead, No More Room In Hell is surprisingly fun and guaranteed hours of entertainment. With the zombie virus running rampant, players can become infected and decide to warn their team of impending zombification or stay quiet about their fate.
9

Unsolved Case

Steam User Rating: 89%

Unsolved Case casts players as detectives and puts them on a serial killer case. In order to catch the Cryptic Killer, the two sleuths will need to solve a series of puzzles, and teamwork is the name of the game. Players will need to constantly communicate since each party is shown just a fragment of a room’s overall puzzle, and a solution can only be found by combining each person’s clues.

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Lasting approximately an hour, Unsolved Case is an enjoyable brain-teaser. While the free co-op game does not have much replay value, it is designed to act as a sample of what Eleven Puzzles’ future Cryptic Killer games will contain.
10

Sven Co-Op

Steam User Rating: 93%

A blast from the past, Sven Co-Op feels like it has always been around in some form or another, even if it never quite reached the same level of popularity as something like Garry’s Mod. Like all great Steam projects, Sven Co-Op can be traced back to Half-Life; in fact, it started life as a mod for Valve’s game. As suggested by the title, the developers sought to bring co-op to Half-Life, a straightforward promise that does not even begin to capture the sheer amount of content incorporated in this package. Nowadays, Sven Co-Op is available as a standalone download on Steam, so it is completely free to play and does not even require owning Half-Life. Heck, it contains Half-Life within it (along with a bunch of maps for other games like Opposing Force). Sven Co-Op is obviously dated by this point. Everything about it screams “early 2000s,” and that is part of its charm. The mod was a pioneer in the co-op FPS market, and its gameplay is still rock-solid and fun to this day.