30 Best Online Games To Play With Friends Right Now

Lilith from Diablo and man holding bat with Vikings in the foreground.

By Garrett Ettinger & Carrie Lambertsen Updated 1 minute ago Sign in to your ScreenRant account follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

While gaming has been known to be a solo experience for some, for others, it's a great way to connect with friends via complex narrative-driven titles like Baldur's Gate 3 or visceral FPS games like Counter-Strike. In fact, for those who live far from each other, gaming is a convenient way to reconnect and spend time with friends they wouldn't otherwise see in person. With the popularization of VoIP programs like Discord, talking to friends while playing games has never been easier.

However, because of all the great titles out there, it's sometimes hard to narrow down the choices and finally settle on a game. After all, everyone has their own gaming preferences, and some friends won't find certain games fun. Luckily, with all the options available through a myriad of gaming consoles and cross-platform play enabled on many titles, figuring out which game to play with friends has never been easier.

30 Rocket League (2015)

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch

Even people who typically aren't fans of either sports games or driving games may find themselves either laughing or screaming at this exciting game of soccer with cars. Friends can either team up or play against each other, while attempting to drive their car in a way that will hit a massively oversize soccer ball into the goal. This is generally much easier said than done, and it can require some skill to master this virtual sport, with many laughs along the way.

Rocket League is free to play, although there are several in-game purchases that can be made by those who wish to. The game also regularly has fun events and updates that provide ways to get new designs of cars or cosmetics to enhance the experience, although none of these are necessary for play.

29 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

Platform: Nintendo

As one of the most recognizable brawling games, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has earned a name for itself as one of the best multiplayer competitive games. Many colleges and game stores across the world will often offer Smash Bros. game nights for large groups. Despite being a fighting game where players beat each other up, the cartoon nature of characters such as Yoshi, Zelda, and even Isabelle from Animal Crossing makes it family friendly.

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster includes crossovers from many different games from the Nintendo universe and beyond. Surprisingly, even with such an large choice of fighters available, the game is incredibly balanced across all characters as well, so players can feel free to use whatever character appeals to them.

28 Forza Horizon 5 (2021)

Platforms: PC, Xbox

When developers made Forza Horizon 5, they managed to find just the right balance between making a strong racing game and a relaxed driving experience. There are many exciting and challenging races to compete in, but players can also simply drive around the beautiful open world and come across various small side quests and things to do. As a multiplayer game, it is easy for people to join a party together to race each other or just enjoy the game.

The short nature of races also makes it easy for groups of friends to jump in and out, without having to coordinate everyone being available at exactly the same start time, although someone may have to occasionally wait for a race to end before they can join the group.

27 Rust (2018)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, PC

Soldier with gas mask holding a rifle in devastated town.

Though Rust has been around since 2013, the game has continually improved over its multi-year stint as an early-access game on PC via Steam. Today, the game developed by Facepunch Studios is now in its full release with a Rust console version playable on the PlayStation and Xbox platforms and stands as a fun, albeit at times stressful, online multiplayer experience. Rust is a first-person survival game where players wake up completely stripped of everything (including clothes). Starting with a simple rock, characters gather resources, build structures, and loot other people to get better equipment. Rust is a high-intensity game, and when a player's character dies, all the loot on the body is up for grabs. This creates a fun and interesting dynamic where relying on friends is paramount. With servers capable of hosting hundreds of people, playing with friends makes things exponentially easier. While "zerging" may be frowned upon, playing with a large group of friends is a definite way to have a blast in the game.

26 Party Animals (2023)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC

Party Animals is a 2023 multiplayer party game seemingly inspired by previous multiplayer physics-based games like Gang Beasts and Fall Guys but packages the title with a variety of selectable cute and cuddly animal avatars. In Party Animals, friends can participate in a variety of mini-games with both an online multiplayer mode and a local split screen. From skirmish modes and king of the hill game modes to objective-based maps, there are a variety of different ways that people can have fun with their friends. This cute, action-packed team game is perfect for a casual time with a group of good friends.

25 Lethal Company (2023)

Platforms: PC

While by no means a polished game to any extent, Lethal Company is a new indie title developed by a small team called Zeekerss, who has worked on a few other indie titles over the past few years with very positive reviews on Steam. Lethal Company is the latest in Among Us type games, where teammates collect scrap and other items while wearing a hazmat suit and exploring abandoned bunkers for cash while cooperating with a pre-made or random team. The only catch is that hideous aliens and environmental disasters hide around every corner.

The game released into Early Access on October 23, 2023, and there are still a lot of bugs to work out, but people online have already been making hilarious compilation videos of some of the funnier hazards in the game. Much like Phasmophobia, each time a mission is successful, it's possible to use acquired credits to get better gear to make recovery gear. With little to no direction and proximity voice chat, the scenarios in the game are unique and, at times, incredibly funny.

24 Splatoon 3 (2022)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

A third-person shooter on the Switch, Splatoon 3 is the latest in the Splatoon franchise, which debuted on the Wii U in 2015. Unlike realistic shooters like Call of Duty, Splatoon maintains a cartoonish aesthetic where Inklings and Octolings team up to take each other on by shooting colored ink at each other with the goal of filling up the entire map with their color. Splatoon 3 supports up to 10 players via online Private Battles or up to 8 players using Local Wireless.

23 The Jackbox Party Pack 10 (2023)

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Mobile

The Jackbox Party Pack has been a mainstay in many households worldwide for years, with the fun trivia and mini-game style of play that has been popular since the franchise was established with You Don't Know Jack in the late 1990s. The Jackbox Party Pack 10 returns to the series with all-new mini-games, including "Tee K.O. 2," "FixyText," and time-travel trivia in the form of "Timejinx."

Released on October 19, 2023, it continues the tradition of fun party games in an online format for up to nine players. Because many of the games are best suited with a large group and can accommodate eight to nine players, this is one game to check out if you've got a large friend group.

22 Helldivers 2 (2024)

Platforms: PC, PS5

Helldivers 2 was a surprise hit, exceeding the developer's expectations. A sequel to the top-down isometric original that inspired the follow-up, Helldivers 2 puts people in control of the titular Helldivers, outer-space soldiers for Super Earth that are willing to take on dangerous missions on foreign planets facing monstrous bugs called the Terminids and robotic AI faction known as the Automatons. A co-op multiplayer game, people team up to take on the game's various missions across different planets in a hyper-patriotic version of the future.

Helldivers 2 had some early-launch hiccups, with a bumpy start to its always-online nature.

21 Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, PC

Though GTA: Online may not have reached the critical acclaim of Grand Theft Auto 5 or the other single-player experiences in the franchise, it would feel wrong not to consider the title one of the best online games to play with friends. Highly popular to this day, Grand Theft Online was originally released shortly after GTA 5, over a decade ago in 2013, and has since seen a plethora of regular updates to improve the experience. Packaged with the single-player experience, it's created a new avenue for fun in the world for those who have completed the campaign.

In GTA Online, players can create their own characters in the open world of San Andreas and Los Santos while interacting with the world's NPCs and other human-controlled characters. While a large and robust modding community and modded servers, people have taken the title to the next level by implementing special rules that dictate how people play. This has resulted in deeply immersive role-play servers and has generated a voracious fan base for the franchise and the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.

Gaming
Baldur's Gate 3
Couter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)

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