Best Games to Play With Friends on PC in 2026 (By Group Size)

The best games to play with friends on PC in 2026 are Minecraft, Valheim, Palworld and Terraria for a world you share for months, Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. and Peak for chaotic party nights, Deep Rock Galactic and Helldivers 2 for four player action, Split Fiction and Baldur's Gate 3 for story co-op, and Counter-Strike 2 for competitive groups.

The right pick depends less on the game than on your group: how many of you there are, whether you play at the same time, and whether you want a quick laugh or a long project. So this list is sorted that way. Player counts are the game's normal limit unless noted, current as of October 2026.

Quick picks by group

Games for a world you share for months

These are the games where a dedicated server changes everything. The world stays online, people play on their own schedule, and you come back to find a friend built a bridge while you were at work.

1. Minecraft: Java Edition

Still the best friends game ever made, because your group decides what it is: vanilla survival, a plugin server with land claims, or a giant modpack. It runs on modest PCs and a server for a small group costs very little. How to start a Minecraft SMP with friends is the place to begin.

Players: no fixed limit, our plans are sized from 10 to 120. Host it: Minecraft server hosting.

2. Valheim

Viking survival that works for mixed skill groups, with bosses that make great scheduled nights and building that keeps the creative people busy between them. Crossplay brings in console friends too.

Players: up to 10. Host it: Valheim server hosting.

3. Palworld

Catch creatures, put them to work in your base, and build a shared world with a big group. Version 1.0 arrived in July 2026, and a dedicated server holds up to 32 players compared with 4 in co-op.

Players: up to 32 on a dedicated server. Host it: Palworld server hosting.

4. Terraria

The 2D adventure that never runs out of things to do, with dozens of bosses and a huge modding scene. It runs on almost any PC and is one of the cheapest servers to host.

Players: our plans are sized for 8 to 32. Host it: Terraria server hosting.

5. Satisfactory or Factorio

For the group with an engineer in it. Build a factory together, argue about belt layouts, then watch it run. Satisfactory is 3D and spectacular, Factorio is 2D and runs on anything. Both are much better on a server where anyone can keep building when the others are offline.

Host it: Satisfactory or Factorio.

For more in this style, see the best survival games to play with friends.

Games for a quick night of chaos

No setup, no long term commitment, just a lot of shouting into microphones.

6. Lethal Company

Land on abandoned moons, scavenge scrap, and try to get it back to the ship without being eaten. Proximity voice chat makes every death funny. Still in early access, still hugely popular, and cheap.

Players: up to 4 by default.

7. R.E.P.O.

Physics based horror where your team hauls valuable objects out of haunted levels, usually by breaking them. Proximity chat and ragdolls do most of the comedy. In early access since February 2025.

Players: up to 6.

8. Peak

A co-op climbing game from Landfall and Aggro Crab. You are lost scouts climbing a mountain, managing stamina and food and dragging each other up ledges. The map changes every day.

Players: up to 4.

Games for four player action

9. Deep Rock Galactic

Space dwarves mining through destructible caves while fighting bugs, with four classes that all need each other. It is one of the friendliest co-op communities on PC and it has had years of free updates.

Players: up to 4.

10. Helldivers 2

Squad up, drop onto a planet, and complete objectives while friendly fire makes everything worse. The galaxy wide war gives every session a little more meaning. Crossplay covers PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox.

Players: up to 4.

Games for story co-op

11. Split Fiction

A two player co-op adventure from the makers of It Takes Two, where every level changes the rules. It is built only for two, and with the Friend's Pass only one of you needs to own it.

Players: 2.

12. Baldur's Gate 3

A huge fantasy RPG you can play entirely in co-op, with each friend controlling their own character in the same story. Expect a campaign of 100 hours or more, so it suits groups that meet regularly.

Players: up to 4.

13. Stardew Valley

The cozy pick. Run a farm together, fish, decorate, and get to know the town. Since the 1.6 update, PC supports up to 8 players on one farm.

Players: up to 8 on PC.

Games for competitive groups

14. Counter-Strike 2

The classic for a group of five or ten. Matchmaking is on Valve's servers, but your own community server is where the fun is: 10 mans, retakes, surf and practice configs. Read how to play CS2 with friends and bots to start.

Players: 10 for a match, more for community modes. Host it: Counter-Strike 2 server hosting.

15. Rust

Not for every group, but if yours enjoys high stakes, a private Rust server with your own rules is a different game from the official ones. Make it PvE, cut the team size, or run a weekend only wipe.

Host it: Rust server hosting.

Do we need a server to play these?

For the party and story games, no. They use one player as the host and are designed for sessions where everyone is online together.

For the shared world games, a server is what makes them work for a real group. Without one, the world only exists while the host plays, and everyone else waits for them. Dedicated server vs peer to peer explains the difference, and how to host a game server for a friend group covers setting one up.

FAQ

What is the best free game to play with friends on PC?

Counter-Strike 2 is free to play. Among paid games, Minecraft, Terraria and Lethal Company are low cost and give a group hundreds of hours.

What are good games for 2 players on PC?

Split Fiction for a story, Stardew Valley for something relaxed, and Valheim or Minecraft if you want a long shared world. All of them are great with just two.

What PC games can 10 or more friends play together?

Minecraft, Rust, Palworld and Counter-Strike 2 community servers all handle 10 or more players. Valheim stops at 10 per world.

Can we play these with friends on console?

Some of them. Helldivers 2, Palworld, Valheim and Minecraft Bedrock all have crossplay. See the best crossplay games with dedicated servers.

Make your friends world permanent

Pick a game on the games page. Your server is live about 60 seconds after payment, and you can split the bill with up to 10 friends at checkout so everyone pays their own share.