Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is firmly established as a staple of the gaming landscape. While not the only subscription platform on the market, Game Pass is unquestionably the most popular and, many would argue, the best. The service provides subscribers launch day access to every first-party Xbox game, along with the occasional third-party release.
While that is a crucial selling point for the service, Game Pass’ success can arguably be credited to its diverse lineup of games. From horror single-player titles to online-only PvP projects, there should be something for everyone on Microsoft’s service. Naturally, that includes online cooperative titles, but which are the best co-op games on Game Pass?
Updated September 29, 2024 by Mark Sammut: Over the last few weeks, Overwatch 2 and Riders Republic were added to Xbox Game Pass, both of which support online co-op. While they have not been added as a recommendation, they are worth considering if anyone is a fan of hero shooters or craves an open-world extreme sports game. With the spooky month on the horizon, a horror game with a unique online co-op has been added. Click here to jump to this entry.
The selection will be (mostly) limited to games that support only online co-op since
local co-op is covered in another article
. That said, a few major exceptions will be included since everyone should play them.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies
Operation Deadbolt Delivers Large-Scale Co-Op
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was not particularly well received when it launched in 2023. The underwhelming single-player campaign was a real letdown following two pretty solid entries in this subseries, while the multiplayer was mostly just fine. Like with every CoD, fun can be had with MW3, even if some players might need to look quite deep to find those moments.
Alternatively, they can just play Operation Deadbolt, which is MW3‘s Zombies mode. Ever since World of War, Zombies has been Call of Duty‘s default co-op, with most games permitting four players to join forces as they try to extract themselves from a map that is gradually becoming overwhelmed by the undead. With a fun weapon progression system and generally intense gameplay, Zombies is always a good time; that said, MW3‘s version requires tweaking expectations.
Rather than the traditional map-based structure, Operation Deadbolt is set in the open Exclusion Zone, which is effectively an open-world. The map is split into three tiers, all of which contain story missions that steadily reveal a larger picture. Due to the open structure, MW3‘s Zombies is not quite as action-packed and intense as most of its predecessors, at least not initially. The mode’s difficulty ramps up considerably with each new tier, resulting in a campaign that genuinely improves as it goes along. For the most part, players will be playing with two other people as part of a squad; however, they can run into other gamers, allowing them to combine forces to take on one of the mode’s many threats.
Sea Of Thieves
A Pirate Adventure That Is Meant To Be Taken With Friends
Considering it had a fairly tepid launch, Sea of Thieves has blossomed into a fantastic multiplayer-driven project. Four players can team up to form a pirate crew and head out into the unknown in search of treasure, adventure, and maybe a Kraken. While solo explorers do exist, they will be at a disadvantage since Sea of Thieves is intended with co-op and PvP in mind.
Even though more than five years have passed since the game’s debut, Rare is still regularly producing updates that introduce fresh events and loot. There is almost always something new for a crew to discover in Sea of Thieves​​​​​​.
Core Keeper
Fight, Build, And Survive (Alone Or With Friends)
Core Keeper is a survival-building game with procedural generation, deep crafting, solid combat, and 8-player co-op. The latter was a staple part of the game during its early access run, all the way to its full release in August 2024, and co-op brings a new dimension to a title that has a lot of them. Putting multiplayer to the side for a second, Core Keeper is primarily marketed as a single-player experience, and most people will likely jump into a solo campaign long before they consider inviting somebody to come and take a look.
Dropped into a dark and expansive world, players are told to “figure it out,” a process that involves a lot of digging, resource gathering, and stumbling. Initially, Core Keeper can feel rather aimless, which would be an issue if the core mechanics were not strong from the start. Fortunately, crafting, combat, and building are immediately fun and, more importantly, improve as time goes by and players unlock more options or grow more confident.
Core Keeper is addictive in the way that only certain indie survival-crafting games seem to be, and it is currently among that genre’s best versions. The co-op is the icing on the cake that enhances the overall package, and it gives the game a more relaxing and cozy tone.
Remnant 2
Soulslike Shooter Designed With Co-Op In Mind
Both Remnant games are on Xbox Game Pass, and they are fantastic co-op experiences. The Soulslike genre is no stranger to multiplayer, but it tends to be a fairly small part of the overall package; however, Remnant: From the Ashes and its successor are exceptions. While solo is a viable option in both entries, the games are undeniably designed with co-op in mind, particularly the sequel. Although garnering criticism for some technical issues at launch, especially on PC, Remnant 2 is generally superior to its predecessor, and newcomers can just jump into the 2023 release without worrying too much about feeling lost.
Remnant 2 is, essentially, a third-person shooter Soulslike, although melee weapons are also available. Still, the gameplay prioritizes ranged combat above everything else, and it is generally weighty and satisfying. At the start of a playthrough, players build a character and pick an archetype, which acts as a class. These options are all designed around specific roles, and most of them are intended to be complementary to each other. The only exception is Handler since that archetype is tailored for solo play.
Using procedural-generation technology and featuring a wide assortment of worlds that each come with unique esthetics, Remnant 2 is ambitious and addictive.
Dead Island 2
Just Uncomplicated Zombie Destroying Fun
Although garnering largely positive reviews at launch, Dead Island 2 got a second lease on life when it debuted on Xbox Game Pass. The long-overdue sequel does not sound that impressive on paper, and if someone was not a big fan of the original, they might struggle to justify dropping cash to just have another opportunity to kill a few zombies in a good but seemingly not great game. However, Dead Island 2 just feels incredible to play, which is something that might not come across via gameplay footage or screenshots. Featuring a visceral gore system that makes dissecting the undead a deeply satisfying experience, Dead Island 2 focuses on getting the basics right, and it nails them.
Primarily known for its single-player, the 2023 release is a fantastic solo option, and an argument could be made that new players should start with this mode before trying co-op. That said, Dambuster implemented the latter feature well, ensuring that both hosts and guests are on an even footing. Co-op becomes available early in the campaign too, so players won’t have to wait long before they can play together. That said, players need to be on the same missions to join forces, otherwise, the person who is further along in the campaign will need to join as a guest and help their friends in their earlier quests.
Warhammer 40000: Darktide
Challenging Co-Op Campaign For Warhammer 40K Fans
There are roughly a billion Warhammer 40K games, and they not only cover a wide spectrum of genres but also quality. Darktide is among the franchise’s better releases in recent years, and its action-heavy gameplay should also satisfy non-fans who are just looking to shoot and dice their way through hordes of zombie-esque creatures. The game offers four playable classes, each of which feels wildly different to control. They all have their positives, and most players will likely find themselves gravitating to one or two of the characters.
Darktide‘s 4-class setup obviously lends itself to co-op play, to the point of the game not launching with a solo mode. The campaign can get quite punishing at times, so party members will need to work together if they want to survive against the game’s various bosses.
Minecraft Legends
Decent Entry-Level Real-Time Strategy Game
Minecraft Legends lives with a decent but not glowing reputation, but the spin-off is generally a fun time. As RTS projects are not known for their accessibility, linking the genre to the most successful game of all time should introduce a wide batch of new players to the strategy world. Minecraft Legends offers a fairly straightforward experience, and while the game contains RTS fixtures, these elements are presented through a hack and slash filter. The result is an enjoyable but somewhat shallow overall package.
If someone is bored with solo runs, they can invite a few friends to help them take on the Piglins. Minecraft Legends‘ online co-op feature does not really change the core loop all that much as the game does not tether the party members to each other, encouraging them to co-exist while still doing their own thing. Players can also team up for PvP battles.
Grounded
Survive A Familiar World With A Few Friends
Obsidian’s resume speaks for itself, particularly when it comes to character-driven RPGs. However, Grounded saw the developer step into uncharted territory known as the survival genre. After being shrunk down to miniature size, players find themselves walking beneath a lawn’s leaves and cowering in the face of insects. Along with story-driven exploration with the goal of freedom, players will need to monitor and react to the behavior of the entities that make up this area’s ecosystem.
Grounded works beautifully as a single-player adventure, but it also supports online co-op. In fact, Obsidian even allows people to create a Shared World that can be accessed without needing a host to be present. The game features four playable characters who interact with each other during co-op sessions, which enhances the multiplayer’s immersion.
Space Engineers
Challenging But Rewarding Sci-Fi Sandbox
Keen Software House’s Space Engineers is not the most accessible game out there, but it is also one of a kind (despite sharing similarities with projects like Minecraft). A proper sandbox experience, a playthrough generally drops players into space with only a handful of things at their disposal. From there, they are encouraged to explore their surroundings and mine asteroids for resources, which they can then use to start creating whatever they want. Ships might be one way to go, but Space Engineers is fairly limitless in this area due to being voxel-based, so players should be able to bring to life all sorts of impressive works of art.
Newcomers will probably want to start in a single-player universe, just so they can come to grips with the controls and mechanics. Make no mistake, Space Engineers is not easy, and it throws a lot of ideas at users while resisting the urge to give them too much direction. Once they start to feel somewhat confident, they can jump into servers with other players, with Xbox allowing for four people to share a space. Now, Space Engineers does not force people to work together, so not every co-op run will be the same or equally fruitful; however, it is still fun to interact with other people.
Palworld
Ambitious Blend Of Genres
Palworld took the gaming world by storm when it launched into early access (or Game Preview on Xbox) on January 19, 2024. On paper, an open-world survival game where players catch Pokemon-esque creatures and engage in third-person shooter action sounds like a recipe for both success and disaster. Surely, such an ambitious title cannot conceivably come together to create a cohesive whole; yet, Palworld kind of clicks. Now, it is important to remember that Pocket Pair is still working on this project, and the current version is not only subject to change but also has plenty of room to grow. Technical issues are also normal, although Palworld is not a broken mess either.
Set on the Palpagos Islands, Palworld challenges players to survive and thrive. The former involves stocking up on necessities and building a base, while the latter requires exploring the impressive world in search of resources and Pals to catch. Monster-taming goes beyond battles as well, as Pals come with special abilities that allow them to be useful at bases or when traveling the map. While not the most complex survival project ever, Palworld‘s success lies in its clever incorporation of various genres and mechanics that are typically not associated with each other.
Although suitable for solo adventurers, Palworld is also designed with online co-op in mind, with players having the option to jump into 32-user servers or to team up with three of their friends. While its implementation comes with a few wrinkles that can be frustrating, this feature brings a whole new dimension to the experience that can help keep the gameplay loop engaging once players start to feel like they have seen almost everything currently in the game.
Payday 2
Classic Heist Game That Is Still Better Than Payday 3
Despite its age, Payday 2 is firmly established as a cornerstone of the online co-op scene, and that does not seem likely to change anytime soon. At this point, Overkill’s game does not need an introduction since it has been easily accessible for a very long time; still, if a group of friends is looking for an FPS game they can play together, they cannot do much better than this 2015 release.
Basically, the gameplay loop revolves entirely around planning and executing heists. As part of a crew, players accept contracts and jump onto a map where they have a few avenues they can follow if they want to escape with their loot. Payday 2 does a great job of shaking things up just enough so that each heist feels unique and emergent, a factor that is also enhanced by a skill tree system.
Conan Exiles
Survival Open-World Game That Wears Many Hats, Including Co-Op
Despite launching with enough issues to warrant a less-than-stellar initial reception, Funcom’s Conan Exiles has shown impressive longevity. More than half a decade after its release, the survival game is still going relatively strong, amassing a dedicated fanbase that has kept it alive through positive word of mouth and a decent modding community on PC. A potential reason for its continual success is versatility – Conan Exiles can morph to suit someone’s preferences. Want a single-player campaign with a fixed story that can be completed within 30 hours or so? Then, Conan Exiles should hit the mark, even if its plot is nothing too special. Want to see how long you can survive in a cutthroat hellscape when starting with basically nothing? Conan Exiles should be perfect.
When it comes to multiplayer, Funcom allows for both PvE and PvP servers, and co-op is technically possible in both. That said, if a group of players mainly want to work together, they should go for a private server that does not allow PvP. Along with not being extremely popular, the latter can be frustrating when players who just want to build a base and explore have to constantly contend with raids. As a co-op survival game, Conan Exiles can be very fun, particularly ones beginners get through the first few hours of a campaign.
World War Z: Aftermath
Blast Through Hordes Of Zombies
Saber Interactive’s World War Z was decent when it launched in 2019 as a zombie-fueled third-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on co-op gameplay. Sticking somewhat close to Left 4 Dead‘s blueprint while still innovating in a few key ways, the game offered a fun albeit uneven time, and it did lack longevity. Nowadays, the original title is difficult to recommend since it has been rendered moot by Aftermath, a definition version that comes with an expansion. Along with a plethora of fresh content like new stages and an eighth class, World War Z has also morphed into a more complete and satisfying overall package, one that can stand toe-to-toe with most modern online co-op shooters.
Campaign-wise, WWZ does not hold too many surprises since it follows a fairly straightforward formula. Players pick from a few character classes and have to plow their way through a handful of episodes set in different locations. While the story is forgettable, a shame considering it is set in the same universe as a great novel, the action is consistently entertaining thanks to WWZ‘s impressively large and aggressive zombie hordes. The classes are well-defined and cover a wide range of gameplay styles, allowing players to pick their favorites and craft balanced teams.
Deep Rock Galactic
Group Up, Get In, Grab Resources, Get Old, Make Bank
Hoxxes IV holds many riches and even more hazards. Working for the eponymous corporation, players are charged with diving into the alien planet’s underground caverns to dig for resources, a process that tends to attract the attention of the aggressive and buggy locales. Thankfully, the playable dwarves are more than capable of defending themselves through an array of weapons and even a few skills. Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op treat that can be played almost endlessly thanks to its procedurally generated levels, and the game offers one of the best demonstrations of that technology’s potential.
Before heading out into the depths, players can pick from Deep Rock Galactic‘s four classes, all of whom serve specific roles that set them apart from their companions. As each dwarf can be leveled up independently, the game encourages users to swap them around as needed until they find a class they unquestionably prefer. While enjoyable in single-player, Deep Rock Galactic improves immensely when experienced alongside a few friends. This goes beyond the idea that “multiplayer makes everything better” since the gameplay is obviously intended to be played in co-op. The classes work well in solo runs, but their full potential can only be unlocked by linking up with their fellow dwarves.
Monster Hunter Rise
Hunters Unite For Capcom’s Most Accessible MH Game
Monster Hunter has become a staple of not only single-player content but also co-op ones. Rise is no exception, offering up to four players the opportunity to form a party and go on hunts together. Obviously, this comes with a spike in difficulty for the battles, although the game is still among the easier entries in the franchise. Now, complete newcomers might want to start with the single-player village quests just to get a hand of things and learn the basic mechanics; while this content does not support multiplayer, it should take less than 10 hours to complete and essentially acts as a glorified tutorial. More importantly, all the quests in the hub can be played in co-op, and these missions are the real meat of the package.
Monster Hunter Rise is all about fine-tuning builds to cater to a specific monster, and the incorporation of multiple party members provides more room for experimentation. In solo runs, targeting multiple monsters per expedition can be too time-consuming, but this is more feasible when a few hunters are working together.
Halo Infinite
Not Perfect, But It Is Still Halo
Halo and co-op are synonymous, which made the fact that Halo Infinite launched without the feature inexcusable. Eventually, 343 added online co-op support to the campaign, although the developer also made the controversial decision to nix local co-op. Due to everything that has happened since its launch, Halo Infinite cannot be described as an unbridled success for Xbox, but the game’s triumphs should not be dismissed either.
The campaign is ambitious, expansive, and, a blast to play through. Sure, it has some pacing issues and a rather rough ending, but the positives outweigh the negatives. The same can also be said for Halo Infinite‘s online co-op, which has a few frustrating moments but is largely fantastic. Co-op works better during the campaign’s linear missions than its open-world, but the latter is still enjoyable provided players stick relatively close to each other.
The Quarry
A Unique Online Co-Op That Might Not Be For Everyone
The Quarry adheres to Supermassive’s “horror movies but playable” formula, casting players as camp counselors who find themselves in the middle of a slasher flick. The game pays clear homage to the genre’s staples, crafting a slow but gripping story that emphasizes player choice and mystery. Although fun solo, these types of games are made for co-op, and Supermassive tends to provide different couch and online experiences. The Quarry is no exception.
In local co-op, The Quarry assigns characters to players, allowing them to control their destinies and make decisions that could also impact other people. This mode is a blast and presents the game at its best. Online co-op opts for a different approach that has its positives but is also more polarizing. Rather than each player controlling one character, the host handles everything while everyone else watches along, sort of similar to a movie. When decisions need to be made, everyone gets a vote, enabling the group to decide as a unit. While resulting in tense situations when the vote is split, this method also means that most participants will not be doing anything for large stretches of the campaign. It is not for everyone.
A Way Out & It Takes Two
Local Or Online, Hazelight’s Masterpieces Need To Be Played
A Way Out It Takes Two Platform(s) PS4, PC, Xbox One Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Switch, PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox One Released 2018-03-23 2021-03-26 Developer(s) Hazelight Studios Hazelight Studios Genre(s) Action, Adventure Action, Adventure System Xbox, PC, PlayStation Nintendo, Xbox, PC, PlayStation OpenCritic Page https://opencritic.com/game/5413/a-way-out https://opencritic.com/game/10974/it-takes-two Top Critic Rating 79 88 Critics Recommend % 69 93
Hazelight’s A Way Out and It Takes Two support local co-op, but they are such seminal cooperative experiences that they still need to be highlighted. And, their online support is implemented well, so players who cannot play locally will not be missing out on much. Both titles must be played in co-op and tell stories specifically driven by two playable characters and their relationships. A Way Out follows two convicts as they try to escape from a maximum security prison, with the story not only covering their plan but also the aftermath. Vincent and Leo are fully-formed characters with well-defined backstories and personalities, and they play off each other brilliantly. The gameplay is entirely driven by co-op, requiring players to coordinate their actions to complete missions. A Way Out is not very hard or mechanically complex, but everything comes together to tell a captivating story.
It Takes Two contains many of the same hallmarks as A Way Out, albeit with a wildly different tone. This time, players step in the shoes of parents who are on the verge of calling it quits; however, a supernatural intervention sees them confined to their daughters’ dolls. If that is not strange enough, they end up going on a very bizarre and fantastical adventure, all the while trying to mend their relationship. With strong writing, adaptive gameplay, great visuals, and just plain old fun, It Takes Two might be the best online co-op game on Game Pass.
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