Co-op games are alive and well, and many more are scheduled to be released in 2025 to fraternize with friendships and reinforce relationships—maybe. 2025’s co-op titles ensure plenty of reason to be optimistic if you enjoy playing on a couch with a friend, or online.
I come from a generation of playing PlayStation 1 and 2 games with friends in co-op. The feeling of sitting next to someone and experiencing the same whirlwind of emotions together as you beat a level is something the intangible nature of online co-op can’t replicate. However, I choose online co-op over no co-op at all—which is the way the games industry seemed to be heading for a while.
The art of co-op continues to thrive, and 2025’s biggest partner-up titles are already stirring up emotions again.
Biggest Co-op Games Releasing in 2025
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 is cutting back on the toilet humor, but this shouldn’t detract from what is sure to be another wild Pandora ride. Co-op has been a big aspect of the series since its debut, encouraging you to team up with other Vault Hunters and take out gun-wielding corporate stooges, and deranged Psychos. Borderlands 4 looks to be more of what we’ve become accustomed to, and I’m so glad I can use a plethora of inane weapons to destroy with friends.
Killing Floor 3
As an FPS enthusiast, I really can’t wait for Killing Floor 3. If you love first-person shooters with gory action, gratuitous violence, banging soundtracks, and replayability, Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor 3 is the answer. Its stylings and gameplay share a lot in common with modern DOOM, sure, but this isn’t a bad thing. In a world rife with hero, extraction, and military shooters, Killing Floor 3 is a gruesome breath of blood-soaked air. Lock and load with a squad of up to six friends to take down Zeds.
Little Nightmares 3
Low and Alone are the new and curiously named protagonists of Little Nightmares 3—with the emphasis being on the plural. There are two main characters to escort through a seemingly inescapable journey of hell this time around; and you can do this on your own, switching between the two, or have a second person join you. It’s probably better for your sanity if you have someone to hold onto during Little Nightmare 3’s decidedly hairier moments.
Dying Light: The Beast
The Dying Light franchise continues with 2025’s The Beast. This standalone sequel sees Kyle Crane return to the main title role—hero of the original—and it’s set some 13 years later. Kyle is a grizzled, zombie-killing veteran at this point, but a second pair of veteran-like hands doesn’t go amiss. Dying Light: The Beast supports co-op, and buddying up improves your survival chances during the series’ neverending outbreak.
Elden Ring Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign was easily one of the most shocking announcements from The Game Awards 2024. A fascinating crossover featuring FromSoftware’s Elden Ring world, and the influence of action experts—Bandai Namco Entertainment. It’s not DLC, this is a fully-fledged game, and one of the biggest differences between Nightreign and traditional Elden Ring is co-op. Nightreign allows you to team up into a trio (not two, sadly) and enjoy the splendor and sickness of an alternate Limgrave in harrowing harmony.
Stage Fright
It’s hard to describe the angst and frustration caused by your fiancé failing to execute a last-minute beef patty throw to earn full stars on a level—but this was part of Overcooked’s charm. Ghost Town Games cooked up magic with the cooking simulation franchise, and the studio is moving to pastures new with Stage Fright. The team’s creativity looks to be in full effect here with Stage Fright promising two distinct worlds playing out side-by-side, and you need to solve puzzles and escape predicaments with a co-op cohort. This is one to keep an eye on for sure.
Split Fiction
Finally, what better way to round out this list? Hazelight Studios is masterminded by the enigmatic auteur Josef Fares. The charismatic director has helmed iconic co-op games, including Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, A Way Out, and It Takes Two—proclaimed GOTY by The Game Awards in 2021. Now, Split Fiction has the impossible task of trying to one-up It Takes Two, but the early signs are promising, and this task might be possible. It’s designed purely with co-op in mind, and has you taking part in a ton of mini-games and trying out many gameplay-shifting concepts. Split Fiction’s expectations are high, and it includes the lauded “Friend’s Pass” system again—meaning you only need one copy!
Co-op gameplay is going nowhere and the future is looking brighter than ever. Are any of these co-op games a day-one purchase, and who will you play them with? Let us know down below.
I’ll definitely give Little Nightmares 3 a go. Don’t care about the rest though.