Exciting Co-op Adventures: 7 Must-Play Games Launching in 2025!

Cooperative games are thriving, and numerous ones are on track for release in 2025, intended to enhance friendships and strengthen bonds—perhaps. The co-op offerings of 2025 promise ample reasons for excitement if you cherish sharing a couch with a friend or playing online.

I hail from a generation that enjoyed playing PlayStation 1 and 2 titles alongside friends in co-op mode. The sensation of sitting next to someone and sharing the same tumult of emotions while overcoming a level is something the intangible essence of online co-op simply cannot duplicate. Nevertheless, I prefer online co-op to the absence of co-op altogether—which at one point seemed to be the trend within the gaming industry.

The art of co-op continues to flourish, and the most significant titles for partner play in 2025 are already rekindling those feelings.

Largest Co-op Games Launching in 2025

Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 is scaling back on the toilet humor; however, this should not detract from what is likely to be another exhilarating journey through Pandora. Co-op has played a crucial role in the series since its inception, urging players to unite with fellow Vault Hunters to eliminate armed corporate lackeys and deranged Psychos. Borderlands 4 seems poised to deliver more of the experience we have grown accustomed to, and I’m thrilled to wield an array of absurd weapons to dismantle foes alongside friends.

Killing Floor 3

As a fan of first-person shooters, I genuinely anticipate the arrival of Killing Floor 3. If you savor FPS games packed with brutal action, excessive violence, exhilarating soundtracks, and high replay value, Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor 3 is your solution. Sure, its style and gameplay bear resemblance to modern DOOM, but that’s not a drawback. In a realm filled with hero, extraction, and military shooters, Killing Floor 3 offers a gruesome, blood-drenched breath of fresh air. Grab your weapons and team up with as many as six comrades to take down Zeds.

Little Nightmares 3

Low and Alone serve as the newly introduced and intriguingly named protagonists of Little Nightmares 3—with the emphasis on plurality. This time, there are two primary characters to navigate through an apparently unavoidable nightmare; you can embark on this journey solo by alternating between them or invite a second player to join. It’s probably more beneficial for your mental well-being to have someone to clutch during the decidedly tense moments in Little Nightmares 3.

Dying Light: The Beast

The Dying Light series continues with 2025’s The Beast. In this standalone sequel, Kyle Crane reprises his role as the lead—originally the hero—and the story unfolds 13 years later. Kyle is now a hardened, veteran zombie slayer, and having an extra pair of experienced hands is always advantageous. Dying Light: The Beast incorporates co-op gameplay, and teaming up enhances your odds of survival during the ongoing outbreak that characterizes the series.

Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign was undoubtedly one of the most surprising revelations from The Game Awards 2024. An intriguing crossover showcasing FromSoftware’s Elden Ring universe, combined with the expertise of action specialists—Bandai Namco Entertainment. This is not an expansion; it’s a fully developed game, with one of the significant distinctions between Nightreign and conventional Elden Ring being the cooperative aspect. Nightreign permits you to collaborate in a trio (not a duo, unfortunately) and revel in the beauty and madness of an alternate Limgrave in dramatic unison.

Stage Fright

Describing the anxiety and irritation caused by your partner mishandling a crucial beef patty toss to achieve maximum stars on a level can be challenging—but this was a part of Overcooked’s allure. Ghost Town Games conjured magic within the culinary simulation franchise, and the studio is venturing into new territories with Stage Fright. The team’s ingenuity is clearly thriving here, as Stage Fright anticipates two separate realms unfolding simultaneously, requiring you to resolve puzzles and escape dilemmas with a cooperative partner. This is certainly a title to monitor closely.

Split Fiction

Lastly, what could be a better way to conclude this compilation? Hazelight Studios is orchestrated by the enigmatic visionary Josef Fares. The charming director has overseen iconic cooperative titles, such as Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, A Way Out, and It Takes Two—recognized as GOTY by The Game Awards in 2021. Now, Split Fiction has the daunting challenge of attempting to surpass It Takes Two, yet the preliminary indicators are encouraging, suggesting this endeavor may be feasible. It has been crafted entirely with cooperation in mind and involves you in numerous mini-games while exploring various gameplay-altering ideas. Split Fiction carries high expectations, and it reintroduces the praised “Friend’s Pass” system—implying that just one copy is necessary!

Cooperative gameplay is here to stay, and the outlook is more promising than ever. Are any of these cooperative games a guaranteed day-one purchase, and who will you engage with them? Share your thoughts in the comments below.