25 Best Survival Games For Cooperative Play

Playing survival games is much more fun when you team up! Working together lets you divide tasks, share supplies, and overcome challenges as a group. From building Viking settlements and fighting zombies to creating heavily fortified bases, these co-op games offer diverse environments and gameplay. We’ve included details about each game’s developers, how co-op works, how you’ll progress, and what you’ll be doing during each play session. So, find a friend (or a few) and get started!

‘Valheim’ (2021)

Valheim is a Viking survival game for up to 10 players, created by Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. Players work together to gather materials, construct bases, and defeat powerful bosses to unlock better equipment and explore new areas. You’ll improve your gear by finding different metals and using crafting stations, and travel between distant lands by sailing or using portal networks. The game is designed for long-lasting cooperative experiences, with easy-to-use tools for building, managing servers, and setting up portal systems.

‘Don’t Starve Together’ (2016)

This expansion, created by Klei Entertainment, lets you and your friends experience a new take on the original survival game. Players work together in a world filled with dangers that change with the seasons, and each character has unique abilities – like providing medical support, cooking, or protecting the team. To succeed, you’ll need to build advanced technology, grow your own food, and get ready for tough seasons like Winter and Spring. The game is regularly updated with new content, and you can customize the difficulty to create a unique experience each time you play.

‘Minecraft’ (2011)

Minecraft, created by Mojang Studios, is a popular game where you explore, build, and survive. It allows for both local and online multiplayer, letting you team up with friends. In Survival mode, you’ll gather resources, craft tools, and construct buildings while keeping an eye on your hunger and health. The game features randomly generated worlds, and players can work together to build bases, create automated farms using redstone, and battle bosses in challenging dimensions like the Nether and the End. Minecraft also offers Realms and dedicated servers, making it easy to maintain a shared world with friends.

‘Terraria’ (2011)

This 2D adventure game, created by Re-Logic, lets up to 8 players team up to survive and build. Players can work together to develop towns, dig for increasingly rare materials, and defeat powerful bosses to get better equipment. The game encourages teamwork with different crafting options, unique items found in each environment, and special events. Players can also customize their experience by choosing different world settings and difficulty levels.

‘7 Days to Die’ (2013)

This open-world zombie survival game, created by The Fun Pimps, revolves around surviving seven-day cycles of increasingly intense zombie attacks. Players team up to gather resources, build defenses with traps and upgrades, and create fortified bases. The game encourages specialization, with players naturally falling into roles like miner, builder, medic, or sniper based on their skills and crafting abilities. A randomly generated world and the ability to build vehicles help create lasting online communities.

‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ (2017)

This dinosaur survival game was created by Studio Wildcard and published with help from partners. Players work together to tame creatures, using them for transportation, fighting, and protecting their bases across diverse landscapes and challenging boss battles. The game features a progression system where players unlock new blueprints, breed creatures, and advance through technology levels – starting with basic tools and eventually reaching advanced Tek gear – all of which encourages long-term teamwork. Dedicated servers and customizable permissions make it easy to manage large bases and shared resources with friends.

‘Rust’ (2018)

Facepunch Studios created this online survival game where players build bases, gather resources, and sometimes raid each other. Teamwork is essential for collecting materials, creating strong defenses, and taking over key locations to find the best items. The game features advanced systems like electricity, vehicle upgrades, and farming, allowing groups to work together on large-scale projects. Both official servers and community-run servers are regularly reset, providing a new start for players and encouraging coordinated teamwork.

‘The Forest’ (2018)

This survival-horror game, created by Endnight Games, lets players team up to build, explore, and survive. After crash-landing on a peninsula, you’ll need to collect resources and create defenses against dangerous creatures while uncovering the game’s story. Building focuses on traps, strongholds, and sneaking, and working together is key to surviving the challenging nights. The cooperative campaign lets you and your friends share progress and explore caves and locked areas together.

‘Sons of the Forest’ (2023)

Endnight Games created the next installment in the series, making the cooperative survival experience even better with smarter AI companions and a more detailed crafting system. Players team up to explore an island, construct customizable bases, and adapt to changing seasons that impact everything from food supplies to how easily they can move around. The game features randomly generated caves, different enemy groups, and a GPS system to help players plan and execute expeditions and gather resources. When playing with others, you can share bases, build shelters together, and advance the story as a team.

‘Deep Rock Galactic’ (2020)

Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op shooter where up to four players team up as space dwarves to mine resources in procedurally generated caves. Developed by Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing, players choose from different classes, each with unique tools like drills and platforms, to complete missions such as mining, rescuing, and escorting. Missions are made more challenging by changing hazards and enemy types, and players work together to achieve shared progress and complete seasonal assignments.

‘Raft’ (2022)

Raft is a cooperative ocean survival game created by Redbeet Interactive and published by Axolot Games. Players work together to build and expand a base on the water, finding ways to get fresh water, cook meals, and create tools to explore islands and uncover a story. As you progress, you’ll unlock things like engines and powered technology, encouraging players to specialize in different tasks. The game’s story is broken into chapters, giving you clear goals for co-op play while still letting you build and explore freely.

‘Project Zomboid’ (2013)

Project Zomboid, created by The Indie Stone, is a challenging zombie survival game with strong online capabilities. Players work together to fortify their base, grow food, craft items, and treat injuries, all while dealing with lasting wounds and changing emotions. The game forces groups to find ways to maintain power and water, like setting up generators and collecting rainwater, and establishing reliable supply lines. Teams can also customize their experience with extensive mod support and server settings, adjusting things like how rare items are, how zombies act, and how infections spread.

‘State of Decay 2’ (2018)

State of Decay 3 is a cooperative survival game developed by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. Up to four players can team up in one player’s world to build and manage a community of survivors, each with their own skills and base. Players work together to secure resources, eliminate threats, and achieve long-term goals, earning rewards that they can then take back to their own individual games.

‘Dying Light’ (2015)

Techland created this game, published by Warner Bros. Games, which centers around fast-paced movement and surviving in a dangerous world. You can play with up to three friends, experiencing a full day-night cycle where enemies become much tougher at night. Players work together to gather resources, improve their skills and safe spaces, and tackle challenging nighttime goals. While there’s a unique ‘Be the Zombie’ mode, the core story can be played entirely in co-op.

‘Dying Light 2: Stay Human’ (2022)

Techland’s latest game lets up to four players team up and explore a huge city together. Players can combine their skills to navigate the environment, hunt for valuable items at night, and control different areas that change how you move around and find supplies. You can customize weapons and character abilities to create unique playstyles, which are essential for tackling challenging anomalies and enemy nests. The game works on multiple console generations and will receive ongoing updates with new co-op missions and content.

‘Grounded’ (2022)

This survival game, created by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios, puts you in a miniature world – shrunk down in someone’s backyard! Players team up to build bases amongst the blades of grass, create increasingly powerful tools, and fight insects that are vulnerable to different elements. By exploring Milk Molars, labs, and completing story quests, you’ll unlock upgrades and recipes to help you progress. The game is designed for long-term cooperative play, with shared worlds and customizable settings making it easy to manage your save with friends.

‘No Man’s Sky’ (2016)

No Man’s Sky, created by Hello Games, is a space exploration game where you can survive, build, and team up with up to three other players. In Survival mode, you’ll face tougher challenges with limited resources. You can build bases on planets and in freighters, and participate in special, time-limited events with the community for unique rewards. The game allows players on different platforms to play together and share their bases, making teamwork easy.

‘Conan Exiles’ (2018)

Funcom created and released this survival game, which takes place in the world of Conan. Players can join clans and work together to build strong bases, create more advanced tools and equipment, and capture thralls – NPCs who provide new abilities and help in combat. The game also features challenging dungeons, powerful world bosses, and a fast travel system accessed through map rooms, giving groups plenty to do beyond just building. Players can also customize their experience by setting up private servers with adjustable difficulty and player-versus-player settings.

‘Green Hell’ (2019)

Creepy Jar created a survival game set in the Amazon rainforest where players can experience a story-driven campaign or team up for cooperative play. Players must work together to stay healthy – managing their mental state, treating injuries, and finding food – while building essential items like bandages, shelters, and tools using resources found in the environment. The story mode lets teams progress through chapters and face challenges with local tribes, and additional challenge modes and ‘Spirits of Amazonia’ chapters provide specific objectives for groups to tackle.

‘Astroneer’ (2019)

Astroneer is a cooperative space exploration and survival game for up to four players, created by System Era Softworks. Players can reshape planets, build automated resource systems, and construct vehicles and bases as they explore different worlds. Progress is made by researching new technologies like data storage, building components, and ways to gather resources from the atmosphere. The game supports dedicated servers and allows players on different platforms to play together and maintain their shared progress.

‘Icarus’ (2021)

RocketWerkz created this cooperative survival game where players work together on a transformed planet. Teams choose missions with time limits, collect materials, and escape with valuable plans that help them in future attempts. Players can specialize in roles like building, hunting, or healing through skill upgrades and crafting stations. Dangerous environments and weather push players to build shelters and carefully manage risks.

‘V Rising’ (2024)

Stunlock Studios created V Rising, a cooperative survival game where players become vampires. You can team up with others to build castles, fight powerful bosses for new abilities, and craft increasingly advanced items using a unique system based on blood quality. The game offers servers focused on player-versus-environment gameplay, allowing groups to progress, gather resources, and unlock high-level technologies. With dedicated servers and customizable rules, you can create and enjoy long-lasting cooperative worlds.

‘Palworld’ (2024)

Pocketpair created this game where you collect creatures called Pals to help you survive, build, and thrive. Pals can automate tasks around your base, run factories, and assist you in battles and while exploring. As you progress, you’ll unlock electricity, breeding programs, and complex production lines, all made easier by working together. The game also features server support and building permissions, allowing large groups to collaborate on ambitious projects.

‘Outward’ (2019)

I’ve been playing this new RPG by Nine Dots Studio, published by Deep Silver, and it’s all about surviving. It’s really cool because you can play with a friend either online or locally on the same screen. The whole game revolves around being prepared – managing your resources, setting up camp, and fighting with a stamina system that makes you think about every move. You’re constantly worried about staying fed, keeping warm, and dealing with any negative effects. Luckily, you can craft all sorts of things – potions, food, and better gear. There are also quests for different groups and dungeons unique to each area, and the best part is, you and your co-op partner can tackle them together without hitting any level restrictions. It’s a really solid experience!

‘Enshrouded’ (2024)

This co-op survival RPG, created by Keen Games, lets up to 16 players team up to rebuild settlements and craft powerful items. Players work together to clear dangerous, shrouded areas, unlock new merchants, and advance their skills through specialized skill trees. The game features gliding for easy traversal, modular building for large-scale projects, and a structured world with objectives like collecting world shards, using fast travel, and defeating bosses in diverse environments.

Let us know in the comments which co-op survival games you’ve been playing with friends, and what features you’d like to see added to them!

2025-11-13 06:48