Best Co-Op Survival Games

Our 2026 picks for best co-op survival games

Survival games shine in co-op. Gathering resources, building bases, and fending off threats is always better with friends watching your back. These are the standout cooperative survival experiences you should try with your squad.

Our Picks

1

Valheim

Viking-themed survival with deep building and boss progression. One of the best co-op survival experiences ever made.

Base BuildingExplorationBoss Fights
2

Grounded

Shrunk to the size of an ant in a suburban backyard. Creative premise, satisfying base building, and surprisingly tough combat.

Base BuildingCraftingAdventure
3

The Forest

Survive on a cannibal-infested peninsula. Tense atmosphere and a surprisingly deep story if you explore the caves.

HorrorBase BuildingExploration
4

Raft

Start on a tiny raft in the ocean and build it into a floating fortress. Relaxing loop with occasional shark attacks.

CraftingExplorationRelaxing
5

Enshrouded

Action RPG meets survival with voxel terrain. Ambitious scale on a large shared world — the card below shows the party size our catalog records.

RPGBuildingAction
6

Don't Starve Together

Tim Burton-esque art style with punishing survival mechanics. Mastering the seasons together is deeply rewarding.

CraftingRogueliteChallenging

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Tips for Your Group

  • Assign roles early — one person on food, one on building, one on combat prep.
  • Don't rush the story. Survival games reward exploration and preparation.
  • Use Co-Op Now's library sync to see which survival games your whole group already owns.
  • Set a session goal before starting: 'Tonight we beat the second boss' keeps everyone focused.

Which co-op games can your squad actually play?

Compare owned games, squad size and platforms for the people you play with.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best survival game for beginners?

Grounded is the most approachable — forgiving difficulty, clear objectives, and a fun premise. Raft is also great for casual groups.

Can I play these cross-platform?

It varies by game, and crossplay support changes over time. Each game page shows the crossplay status we actually have evidence for, and marks it as unknown when we don't — use the crossplay filter on the games page to see titles with a positive crossplay record.

How long are these games?

Survival games are usually open-ended rather than fixed-length, and they're built for drop-in sessions. Where we have recorded session data, it's shown on the card.

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