The Best Co-op Games on PS5 to Play With Friends (2026)

Co-op is one of the things the PS5 does exceptionally well, but "co-op" covers a lot of ground — a couch with two controllers, a squad on headsets, or a shared save you both keep returning to for months. This guide sorts the platform's best cooperative games into three practical buckets so you can match a game to how you actually want to play, and it flags the two details that trip people up most: whether a game supports true split-screen on one console, and whether you need a paid PlayStation Plus membership to play online. For picks beyond co-op, our featured games hub is a good next stop.

How to read this guide

Every game here is a real, well-established PS5 title as of 2026 — nothing speculative. For each one we note the player count and whether it offers local split-screen (two people, one console, one screen), online co-op, or both, plus any cross-play worth knowing about. Player counts and features can change with updates, so treat these as the state of play in early 2026 and confirm current details on a game's PlayStation Store page before buying. Where a game includes online play, assume PS Plus Essential is the minimum unless stated otherwise.

Couch and split-screen: two on one sofa

Reach for these when your co-op partner is in the same room. No second console, no online subscription — just a second controller.

• It Takes Two and Split Fiction (Hazelight) — The gold standard for two-player couch co-op. Both are built exclusively around two players and both include split-screen. It Takes Two's Friend's Pass lets a second player join online for free without owning the game, and Split Fiction offers a similar free-for-a-friend model. Strictly two players.
• Overcooked 2 — Frantic kitchen chaos for 1–4 players locally on one screen, and the purest party co-op on the platform. Online play is supported too.
• The Lego games (Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the wider catalogue) — Reliable two-player drop-in/drop-out split-screen: family-friendly, forgiving, and ideal for mixed-skill pairs and younger players.
• Minecraft — Bedrock Edition supports local split-screen (up to four players on one console, hardware permitting) alongside online worlds. One of the few sandbox games that does genuine couch co-op.
• Diablo IV and Borderlands 3 — Both looter action-RPGs offer local two-player split-screen on PS5 on top of full online co-op, so a partner can join your campaign without a second console.

Drop-in online: quick sessions with a squad

These shine when your friends are elsewhere but online at the same time. All of them require PS Plus for online play on PS5.

• Helldivers 2 — Up to four-player, cooperative-only online play with strong matchmaking and drop-in flow, and one of the defining PS5 co-op experiences. Cross-play with PC is supported.
• Deep Rock Galactic — 1–4 dwarves mining procedurally generated caves. It scales well for any group size and has a famously good-natured community. Online co-op.
• Sea of Thieves — Crew a pirate ship with up to four players in a shared open world. Cross-play across platforms; online co-op requires PS Plus.
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide — Four-player first-person co-op slaughter. Vermintide 2 is the more established, content-complete pick; Darktide is the grimdark sci-fi follow-up. Both are online co-op.
• Monster Hunter — The series' hunts are built for online squads of up to four, joining each other's quests to take down giant monsters. Bring a headset and coordinate.

Long-haul co-op: games you'll share for months

These reward a consistent group, or a single co-op partner, over dozens of hours. Most run online; a couple play beautifully on the couch.

Baldur's Gate 3 is the standout: a full-length RPG you can play cooperatively from start to finish, with local split-screen for two and online tables for up to four. Stardew Valley is the cosy option — a farming life-sim with shared farms locally and online, ideal for couples or a small group who log in a little each week. No Man's Sky has grown into a vast shared-universe sandbox for up to four players; its co-op is online-only, but years of free updates sit behind it. For a broader view of what's landing this year, our upcoming PS5 games roundup tracks the release calendar.

How to set up local co-op on PS5

Split-screen and shared-screen games need almost no configuration, but the second-controller step catches people out. Here's the quick version:

1. Turn on the second DualSense and press the PS button. On first pairing, connect it by USB-C to the console; after that it works wirelessly.
2. You'll be asked which profile the controller belongs to. Choose an existing account or pick "New User" / play as a guest — a guest works fine for most couch co-op and needs no sign-in.
3. Launch the game and start a local / split-screen match from its menu. The second controller is then recognised in-game.

Local split-screen does not require PS Plus for either player — that requirement applies only to online multiplayer. If you're pairing extra controllers or picking a co-op-friendly headset, our PS5 hardware and accessories guide covers the gear. You can always confirm a specific title's co-op features on its PlayStation Store page, under supported features, before you buy.

The bottom line

If you have a friend on the sofa, start with It Takes Two or Split Fiction — nothing else on PS5 is designed so completely around two people, and you only need one copy. For online squad nights, Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic are the easy recommendations, and for a co-op adventure that lasts months, Baldur's Gate 3 is hard to beat. Just remember the dividing line: couch play is free, but online co-op needs an active PS Plus membership. Sort out which one you need, and the rest is just picking a night to play.