Best PC Game Pass Games: Co-op, RPG and Cheap Keepers

Game Pass is the easiest way to try a huge stack of PC games for one monthly fee, but the catalog rotates, so knowing what to play first (and what to actually buy) matters. Below are the best PC Game Pass games right now, sorted by what you want out of a night: co-op chaos, a deep solo RPG, a racing fix, or a couch party. Quick picks are up top so you can stop reading and start playing.

Last updated: June 7, 2026. Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly.

Best picks at a glance

• Best racing: Forza Horizon 5 (gorgeous, beginner-friendly, endless content)
• Best co-op: Sea of Thieves and Deep Rock Galactic (drop-in crews, low friction)
• Best solo RPG: Starfield and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster
• Best one-more-run: Hades and Balatro
• Best couch / party: Overcooked 2 and a controller each
• Best for 2 players: LEGO games and It Takes Two
• Best for big groups (5+): Sea of Thieves galleon crews and Among Us
• Best cross-platform: Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 (PC, Xbox, plus cloud)
• Best value keeper (buy when it leaves): Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced

Quick list

Prices are rough buy-it-yourself figures for when a game rotates out; check live numbers in our catalog and the current deals page.

Best solo RPGs and adventures

If you want one big world to disappear into, Game Pass spoils you. Starfield is the obvious headliner, a sprawling space RPG with ship building and faction quests that reward patience. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered brought one of the all-time great fantasy sandboxes back with modern visuals, and it is a genuine highlight of the PC catalog. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle nails the pulp adventure tone, while Lies of P gives soulslike fans a tough, fair challenge with one of the best parry systems around. For something quieter, Pentiment tells a layered murder mystery you read as much as play.

When it comes to owning these long term, the classics age beautifully and stay cheap. The original The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (2009) is a few dollars on sale if you want the version you can keep forever. The same goes for the genre's grandparents: Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game and Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game are foundational, and the excellent indie tribute ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game scratches the same itch for less than a coffee. More picks live on our RPG hub.

Best co-op and multiplayer

This is where Game Pass earns its keep. Sea of Thieves turns a single voice channel into a comedy show, with crews of up to four sailing, fighting and panicking together. Deep Rock Galactic is the gold standard for drop-in co-op, all teamwork and cave-ins for 1-4 players. Grounded shrinks four friends down to bug size for backyard survival, and Diablo IV keeps the loot grind going for 1-4 players who like numbers going up.

For a couch-or-online shooter, Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced is a fantastic four-player ride and frequently dirt cheap to buy outright, so it is a smart keeper when it cycles off the service. If you want the legacy version, Borderlands Game of the Year covers the original release. See the full action shortlist for more.

Best couch and party games

Got people on the sofa and spare controllers? Overcooked 2 is the loud, frantic kitchen sim that tests every friendship for 1-4 players. Beyond the obvious, three party staples are cheap to own outright and worth keeping on standby. Stick Fight: The Game is pure ragdoll mayhem, Duck Game is a razor-sharp arcade shootout, and the LEGO games are perfect two-player comfort food: LEGO Batman: The Videogame and The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game both split-screen nicely and welcome younger players.

Best for 2 players

For a focused duo night, the LEGO titles above are reliable two-player co-op. It Takes Two, when it is in the catalog, is a designed-for-two masterclass that never repeats an idea. Stardew Valley also supports a small farm crew, so two players can build a homestead at a relaxed pace.

Best for 3-4 players

This is co-op's sweet spot. Deep Rock Galactic, Grounded and Sea of Thieves all cap around four and play best with a full team. Diablo IV scales to four for those who prefer a loot dungeon crawl over a survival camp.

Best for big groups (5+)

For a crowd, Among Us is the social-deduction default and runs on almost anything. Sea of Thieves galleon crews put four on one ship, and with two ships your friend group can stage a full sea battle. If you want fast, silly, everyone-screaming chaos, Stick Fight: The Game and Duck Game scale up well for online lobbies.

Best racing and sim

Forza Horizon 5 is the racing crown jewel, easy for newcomers and endlessly deep for tinkerers, with cross-play across PC and Xbox. On the simulation side, Microsoft Flight Simulator hands you the entire planet, and Age of Empires IV is a clean, modern real-time strategy entry for 1-8 players.

If you like the business-and-management corner of sim, Mad Games Tycoon 2 lets you run your own studio and is cheap to own, while Wargame: Red Dragon is a deep large-scale RTS for strategy diehards who want online battles. Browse more standouts on our indie hub.

Best cross-platform

Game Pass shines when you want to start on one device and finish on another. Halo Infinite's free multiplayer plays across PC and Xbox, Forza Horizon 5 shares lobbies between PC and console, and Sea of Thieves now links PC, Xbox and PlayStation crews. Cloud streaming covers the gaps when you are away from your main rig.

Honourable / adjacent picks

These are great games that either rotate in and out or only loosely fit a "play it tonight on Game Pass" pitch, so they are picks rather than core entries.

• Untitled Goose Game: a short, hilarious stealth-puzzle romp that has appeared on the service. Loosely fits because it is more a one-evening giggle than a long-haul library staple.
• There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension: a clever meta-puzzle comedy. Adjacent because it is brief and best bought cheap rather than relied on in the rotation.
• Sultan's Game: a dark, story-driven card-and-choice game for solo players who like risk and consequence. A buy-to-own curiosity more than a Game Pass mainstay.
• Skater XL - The Ultimate Skateboarding Game: a physics-led skating sandbox for trick perfectionists. Niche, but excellent at the one thing it does.

FAQ

Is PC Game Pass worth it in 2026? If you play more than two new games a month, yes. The value is in variety and day-one first-party launches. If you replay a handful of favourites for hundreds of hours, buying those outright through our catalog is usually cheaper over time.

Are Game Pass games actually free? No, they are included with your subscription, not free to keep. You play them while you pay the monthly fee. For genuinely free titles, watch our giveaways tracker.

What happens when a game leaves Game Pass? You lose access until it returns or you buy it. The good news: departing titles often go on sale, and Microsoft usually offers subscribers a discount to own them. That is the moment to grab keepers via our deals page.

What are the best co-op games on PC Game Pass? Sea of Thieves, Deep Rock Galactic and Grounded for 1-4 players, plus Diablo IV for loot fans. Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced is a brilliant cheap-to-own backup when it rotates out.

Can I play Game Pass games on Steam Deck? Not natively through the app, but many are great on a Deck once installed elsewhere or via cloud streaming. Check verified titles on our Steam Deck guide before you travel.

Do I keep my games if I cancel Game Pass? Only the ones you actually purchased. Anything you played purely through the subscription stops working once you cancel, so buy the standouts you want forever.

Is it cheaper to buy games or subscribe? It depends on your habits. Heavy samplers save with the subscription, focused players save by owning. Time big purchases around sales, and keep an eye on our Steam sale tracker for the lowest prices.

What are the best single-player RPGs on Game Pass? Starfield and the Oblivion remaster lead the pack. For cheap classics you can own, start with Fallout, Fallout 2 and the modern indie favourite ATOM RPG.

The bottom line

Game Pass is the best way to graze a massive library, and the picks above will keep you busy whether you want co-op nights, a solo epic, or a quick roguelike run before bed. Just remember the catalog rotates, so when a favourite gets flagged to leave, that is your signal to buy it cheap and keep it. Compare prices across Steam, Eneba, Kinguin, Epic and GOG in our full catalog, and check the current deals before you commit.

Alex, Scout Team