The 10 Best Online Co-op Shooters in 2027
The 10 Best Online Co-op Shooters in 2027
Direct Answer
The best online co-op shooter is Helldivers 2, a four-player squad shooter at $39.99 where friendly fire and stratagem inputs turn every mission into coordinated chaos. The best value is Deep Rock Galactic at $29.99 (often under $10 on sale), a four-player mining shooter with years of free content.
This list is for players who want to team up and shoot things together online — wave survival, PvE campaigns, and squad missions — across PS5, Xbox, PC, and cross-play. Every game below is a real, current co-op shooter, ranked on squad design, content depth, replayability, and value.
These are cooperative shooters where you fight enemies together, not competitive deathmatch.
1. Helldivers 2 🏆 BEST OVERALL
Helldivers 2 from Arrowhead is $39.99 on PS5 and PC with cross-play, supporting four-player online co-op with friendly fire always on. You drop onto hostile planets, call down stratagems with directional combos, and spread "managed democracy" while trying not to kill your own squad.
The friendly fire is the genius — every airstrike, sentry, and reload is a team-trust exercise. Major story orders and new enemy factions (bugs, robots, and more) have arrived free since launch, keeping the war alive. The drop-in matchmaking makes squading up with strangers or friends instant.
It ranks #1 because no other co-op shooter blends tactical depth, slapstick chaos, and a living shared war this well.
2. Deep Rock Galactic 💎 BEST VALUE
Deep Rock Galactic from Ghost Ship Games is $29.99 and frequently under $10, supporting four-player online co-op on PS5, Xbox, and PC. You are space-mining dwarves drilling through fully destructible caves, each of four classes filling a distinct role.
It is Best Value for one of the most replayable co-op loops anywhere at a low price, plus years of free seasonal content. The destructible terrain means navigation itself is a team puzzle. Roles genuinely depend on each other — no one can solo every job — making it a true cooperative shooter.
3. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide from Fatshark is $39.99 on Xbox and PC, supporting four-player online co-op. You and three others hold off swarms of heretics in the grim industrial hive city of Tertium, blending melee and gunplay.
It ranks high for visceral, weighty combat against overwhelming hordes. The class system and weapon variety reward coordinated teams, and the dense Warhammer 40K setting is brought to life with grimy detail. It is the spiritual successor to Fatshark's Vermintide series with guns front and center.
4. Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 from Valve is $9.99 on PC and supports four-player online co-op in the genre-defining zombie shooter. You fight through campaigns toward a rescue point while the AI "Director" spawns special infected to punish poor teamwork.
It earns its place as the template the whole genre copied, still excellent and still cheap. The Director's dynamic pacing means teams that stick together survive and those that scatter die. A massive mod and custom-campaign scene keeps it alive years on.
5. Vermintide 2
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 from Fatshark is $29.99 on PS5, Xbox, and PC, supporting four-player online co-op with first-person melee and ranged combat. You hold off rat-man and Chaos hordes across grim Warhammer Fantasy levels.
It ranks here for the best melee weight in any co-op shooter, with guns and bows supporting the swordwork. Coordinating a four-player team against a relentless horde stays tense across hundreds of runs. Deep career and weapon progression reward long-term squads.
6. Back 4 Blood
Back 4 Blood from Turtle Rock Studios is $59.99 (often deeply discounted) on PS5, Xbox, and PC, supporting four-player online co-op. Built by the original Left 4 Dead team, it adds a card-based deck system that modifies each run.
It makes the list as a modern Left 4 Dead with fresh systems. The card decks let teams build complementary loadouts, adding a layer of strategy on top of the zombie-shooting. It plays best with a committed four-player group coordinating their builds.
7. Gears 5
Gears 5 from The Coalition is $39.99 on Xbox and PC and free on Game Pass, supporting three-player campaign co-op plus five-player Horde mode. Horde has you surviving escalating enemy waves while building fortifications.
It ranks here for Horde, one of the best wave-survival co-op modes in any shooter. Players pick characters with distinct ultimate abilities and place turrets and barriers to hold a base. On Game Pass it costs nothing extra.
8. Risk of Rain 2
Risk of Rain 2 from Hopoo Games is $24.99 on PS5, Xbox, Switch, and PC, supporting four-player online co-op in a roguelike third-person shooter. You loot stacking items and fight escalating waves on alien worlds where difficulty rises with time.
It earns a spot for a co-op loop that becomes glorious screen-filling chaos as item stacks compound. Every run differs, and the rising-difficulty clock keeps the whole team under pressure. It is endlessly replayable and well-supported across platforms.
9. Remnant 2
Remnant 2 from Gunfire Games is $49.99 on PS5, Xbox, and PC, supporting three-player online co-op in a souls-like shooter. You fight through procedurally assembled worlds and tough bosses, building a character around guns and archetypes.
It ranks here as the best challenging co-op shooter with RPG depth. The souls-like difficulty rewards teams that coordinate dodges and focus fire, and the procedural worlds mean each group's campaign differs. It blends gunplay with meaningful character building.
10. Payday 3
Payday 3 from Starbreeze is $39.99 on PS5, Xbox, and PC, supporting four-player online co-op heists. You plan and execute bank robberies, choosing between stealth and going loud when the alarms trip.
It rounds out the list as the dedicated co-op heist shooter. The stealth-or-loud branching means teams can approach each job differently, and coordinating roles — drilling, crowd control, hauling loot — is the core of every heist. It rewards groups who communicate and plan.
How to Choose
- For the best all-around squad shooter, Helldivers 2 combines depth, chaos, and a living war.
- For the best value, Deep Rock Galactic or Left 4 Dead 2 cost little and deliver huge replayability.
- For horde survival, Gears 5's Horde mode or Risk of Rain 2 are the standouts.
- For melee-and-gun horde combat, Darktide or Vermintide 2 offer the weightiest fights.
- For a real challenge with RPG depth, Remnant 2 rewards coordinated, careful teams.
- For something different, Payday 3 is the heist-planning co-op shooter.
FAQ
Do I need a console subscription to play these co-op shooters online? On consoles, yes — most require PlayStation Plus Essential (about $79.99 per year) or Xbox Game Pass Core (about $59.99 per year). On PC, online co-op has no subscription fee; you only need the game.
Some titles like Gears 5 are included with Xbox Game Pass at no extra cost.
Which of these support cross-play between platforms? Helldivers 2 supports cross-play between PS5 and PC. Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2, Remnant 2, Back 4 Blood, and Payday 3 offer cross-play across various platforms. Always check the current settings, as cross-play support is sometimes added or refined after launch.
What is the cheapest good co-op shooter? Left 4 Dead 2 at $9.99 is the cheapest standout, supporting four-player zombie co-op. Risk of Rain 2 ($24.99), Vermintide 2 ($29.99), and frequently discounted Deep Rock Galactic (often under $10) are also excellent low-cost picks.
Are these PvE or PvP shooters? Every game on this list is primarily cooperative PvE — you team up against AI enemies, not other players. Some, like Payday 3 and Gears 5, also have competitive PvP modes, but they were chosen and ranked for their co-op campaigns and survival modes.
Bottom Line
For the best overall online co-op shooter, Helldivers 2 ($39.99) delivers tactical four-player squad chaos in a living war. For the best value, Deep Rock Galactic ($29.99, often under $10) offers one of gaming's most replayable co-op loops with years of free content. Pick by whether you want wave survival, a campaign, or heists.
Sources
- Steam, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store official listings and pricing
- Arrowhead Game Studios / Helldivers 2 official site
- Ghost Ship Games / Deep Rock Galactic official site
- Fatshark official site (Darktide and Vermintide 2)
- IGN co-op shooter reviews and roundups
- PC Gamer multiplayer shooter guides
- GameSpot co-op shooter reviews