Best Free Games to Play With Friends (Co-op & Crossplay)

Hunting for the best free games to play with friends without dropping a cent? Good news: some of the biggest, most polished multiplayer games on the planet cost exactly $0 to install, and you can be in a lobby together tonight. This guide ranks the genuinely free standouts first, then adds the cheap-and-premium co-op gems worth a small spend, with real prices and crossplay notes so nobody gets left out. For the wider picture across every budget, see our parent guide, Best Games to Play With Friends.

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 free overall: Apex Legends, fast squads, generous free roster.
• Best free MOBA: Dota 2, every hero unlocked from minute one.
• Best free looter-shooter: Destiny 2, gorgeous gunplay, free core.
• Best free battle royale: Call of Duty Warzone.
• Best cheap party game: Among Us, around $4.99 (free on mobile).
• Best cheap co-op horror: Phasmophobia.
• Best premium co-op story: Baldur's Gate 3.
• Best for 2 players: Don't Starve Together.
• Best for big groups (5+): Among Us and GTA Online.
• Best couch / split-screen: ARK: Survival Evolved on console.
• Best cross-platform: Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Dead by Daylight.

Quick list

Prices are typical June 2026 figures and move around during sales. Check the live number on our deals page before you buy.

Best free games to play with friends

These cost nothing to download, and nobody needs to chip in. That makes them the easiest way to get a whole group playing the same night.

Apex Legends (free squad shooter) Apex Legends is the default recommendation for a reason. It runs three-player squads, the movement is some of the best in any shooter, and full crossplay means PC, console and Switch friends can party up. The free roster rotates plenty of characters, so a new player can find a main without spending. If you want the cosmetic head start, there is an Apex Legends: Bloodhound Edition bundle, but the base game is the part that matters and it is free.

Dota 2 (free MOBA) Dota 2 is the rare free game that locks nothing behind a paywall. Every hero is available from your first match, which keeps the team on equal footing. The steep learning curve suits friends who enjoy a deep, slow-burn challenge.

Destiny 2 (free looter-shooter) Destiny 2 hands you the best gunfeel of any free game and a big chunk of cooperative content at no cost. You and up to five friends can run strikes and seasonal activities together. The free core is generous enough for a long stretch of fireteam nights.

Call of Duty Warzone (free battle royale) The Warzone side of Call of Duty is free, polished and packed with players, with crossplay so mixed squads work fine.

Best cheap games to play with friends (under $20)

Spend a little and the variety opens up. None of these will dent your wallet, and they go cheaper still during sales.

Among Us (party deception) Among Us is the king of cheap group nights at around $4.99, and it is free on mobile so phone-only friends can still join. It scales to big lobbies and turns ten minutes into pure chaos. This is the easiest "everyone is here, what do we play" answer.

Phasmophobia (co-op horror) Phasmophobia is the best cheap scare for one to four people. Proximity voice chat does the heavy lifting, so screaming and bad decisions are part of the design. It is genuinely tense without needing a tutorial, which makes it great for mixed-skill groups. More frights in our horror hub.

PAYDAY 2 (co-op heists) PAYDAY 2 packs years of four-player heists into a tiny price, and it shows up in giveaways often enough that you might grab it for nothing. Keep an eye on our giveaways tracker.

Don't Starve Together (2-player survival) Don't Starve Together is my pick for a duo on a budget. The art is gorgeous, the survival loop is punishing, and figuring out the systems together is the whole appeal. At around $14.99 (and often half that on sale), it is a lot of nights for very little money.

Best games for 2 players

• Don't Starve Together: the ideal cheap duo survival hangout.
• Phasmophobia: two people in a haunted house is somehow scarier than four.
• Destiny 2: plenty of two-player activities in the free core.
• Dying Light: drop-in parkour zombie survival that plays great as a pair.

Best games for 3-4 players

• Apex Legends: built around three-player squads.
• Call of Duty: Warzone quads or smaller modes.
• PAYDAY 2: four-player heists, the sweet spot.
• Baldur's Gate 3: the best premium four-player campaign if everyone owns it.

Best games for big groups (5+)

• Among Us: up to 15 players, the obvious big-lobby choice.
• Dead by Daylight: four survivors plus one killer makes a perfect five.
• GTA V Legacy: GTA Online lobbies fit a small army.
• ARK: Survival Evolved: tribes scale to eight and beyond on a shared server.

Best couch / split-screen co-op

Most modern free shooters are online only, so true couch play is rarer than it used to be. A couple of picks here still deliver on one screen.

• ARK: Survival Evolved: supports split-screen on consoles, great for survival on the sofa.
• Dying Light: online co-op rather than split-screen, but smooth drop-in play if you are in the same room on separate machines.

If portable couch sessions are your thing, our Steam Deck list flags what runs well handheld.

Best cross-platform games to play with friends

Crossplay is the thing that saves a friend group split across PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.

• Call of Duty: full crossplay across PC and consoles.
• Apex Legends: crossplay including Switch.
• Dead by Daylight: crossplay and cross-progression on most platforms.
• Among Us: plays across PC, console and mobile in the same lobby.

Honourable / adjacent picks

These are great with friends, but they only loosely fit a "free" group-night brief, so they sit here rather than in the core list.

• Baldur's Gate 3: a superb four-player RPG, but it is premium and every player needs a copy. More like it in our RPG hub.
• Elden Ring: co-op exists through jolly cooperation and summons, yet it is primarily a single-player game and full price. Filed adjacent for that reason.
• Euro Truck Simulator 2: convoy mode makes for a lovely chill hangout, but it is a sim, not a competitive or objective co-op game.
• GTA V Legacy: GTA Online is brilliant with friends, but the base game is paid and the online economy leans hard on grind or shortcut cards.

FAQ

What is the best free game to play with friends right now? For most groups it is Apex Legends: free, crossplay, three-player squads and a low barrier to a first match. If your crew prefers strategy over reflexes, Dota 2 is the deeper free option with every hero unlocked.

Are these games actually free or just free to start? Apex Legends, Dota 2, Destiny 2 and Warzone in Call of Duty are free to download and fully playable without spending. They sell cosmetics and, in some cases, expansions, but you can have a full group night for $0.

What is the cheapest game a whole group can buy together? Among Us at around $4.99 is the cheapest paid pick that scales to a big lobby, and it is free on mobile. PAYDAY 2 is similarly cheap and shows up in giveaways often, so watch our giveaways page.

Which free games support crossplay across PC and console? Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Dead by Daylight all support crossplay, so PC, PlayStation, Xbox and (for several titles) Switch players can squad up together.

What is the best free game for two players specifically? On a budget, Don't Starve Together is a brilliant duo experience, though it is a small paid purchase. For genuinely free, Destiny 2 has plenty of two-player activities in its free core.

Are there any good couch co-op options here? Couch play is limited in this list because most free shooters are online only. ARK: Survival Evolved supports split-screen on consoles, which is the closest thing to classic same-screen co-op among these picks.

Do I need to pay for online play on console? On PlayStation and Xbox you usually need an active online subscription to play multiplayer, even for free games. PC has no such requirement.

How do I make sure I get the lowest price on the paid picks? Compare stores before you buy. Prices for titles like Phasmophobia, Dead by Daylight and Baldur's Gate 3 vary across Steam, Eneba, Kinguin, Epic and GOG, and our deals page tracks the current low.

The bottom line

If you want the best free games to play with friends tonight, start with Apex Legends, Dota 2, Destiny 2 or Warzone, then graduate to cheap legends like Among Us and Phasmophobia when you want variety. Match the pick to your group: free and crossplay for mixed platforms, cheap and chaotic for a big lobby, premium co-op when everyone is invested. Compare live prices on every paid title in our catalog and grab the current low on our deals page before the next sale closes.

Alex, Scout Team