What are the best online multiplayer games on PC?

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Question Notes: Online multiplayer games are games that can be played over the internet with multiple players. Multiplayer games are made up of player vs player as well as co-op games.

For a similar question regarding local “couch” multiplayer games, see here.

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The 6 must play gamesWhy?

Best online multiplayer games on PC	Price	Genre	Platforms
95 Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn	$19.99	MMORPG	PlayStation 4, Windows, Mac
94 Dragon Ball FighterZ	$59.99	Fighting	Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
93 Borderlands 2	$19.99	Action RPG	Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One
93 Monster Hunter: World	$59.99	Action Role-Playing, Multiplayer	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows
92 Don't Starve Together	$14.99	Roguelike, Survival, Horror	PlayStation 4, Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One

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Dragon Ball FighterZ

Top Pro

Combat is easy to learn and difficult to master

The control scheme among combatants is universal enough to work well for players who are new to the fighting genre, while veterans have access to more specialized combos and timings to perfect with individual fighters. Beginners can get away with starting off with auto-combos by pressing the face buttons. Simple button mashing is serviceable for the easy parts of the story and arcade modes. Those looking to improve their play can practice in the tutorial with the combo challenges for every character. Mastering these manual combos takes dedication, but adept use of these moves will undoubtedly pay off for harder story battles and online play. See More

Top Con

No honor in online matches

This is more of an issue among the playerbase than in the game itself, but don't be surprised if you're about to win a ranked World match and your opponent suddenly "disconnects". When that happens, you will also lose connection to your lobby, forcing you to connect to another one. Disconnects don't count as a loss or a win for either party involved, so there's no penalty that punishes quitters. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Variety of co-op options

Borderlands 2 offers 4 player online co-op as well as 2 player split screen local co-op. There is even a way for two player local split-screen to play online with others. See More

Top Con

Gameplay can become repetitive

Many battles can be cheesed by running away, taking cover, shooting, and repeating. The AI doesn't do much to pursue you which gives the player the advantage of using the same technique for most fights, which can become boring with time. See More

DecisiveNemesis's Experience

Played in co-op with a brother, and he managed to finish the game with me that's quite an achievment i have to say See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

There's never a dull moment

As the game progresses, it offers more and more mechanics that require constant attention to function properly. It becomes a constant re-evaluation of risk and reward. See More

Top Con

Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring

The beginning of a playthrough starts out pretty slow, which is exacerbated by the fact that the player will need to restart many many times as the game is a rouguelike, so permanent death is something that will be encountered often. See More

ConscientiousAmirani's Experience

Overall a great game that is really fun to play with friends! I love the graphics too. The possibilities are endless when it comes to crafting and exploring. 5/5 stars See More

Specs

Genre:Roguelike, Survival, Horror

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

See All Specs

Top Pro

Easy to get started but has a lot of depth

The game starts out easy, with very little in terms of mechanics, and the single objective of not starving. Then, over time, new mechanics are introduced as you explore more of the game world. The game provides very little guidance, leaving players to figure out how things work for themselves. In addition to game mechanics, even goals and story elements are unveiled organically over time. See More

Top Con

Can get repetitive

You'll have to repeatedly collect a lot of basic materials like twigs, grass, and ore. This is because most of the starting recipes share the same required materials. Even later in the game you'll be doing many repetitive tasks. Gathering enough firewood for winter is especially bad because you have to chop down dozens of trees. All of this is made worse by the limited inventory space, causing you to make the same trip multiple times. See More

ImaginativeBobbiBobbi's Experience

Due to the stylised 'cartoon' graphics you won't need a top end gaming rig to be able to play WoW and have it look good. See More

See All

41 Other Games Considered

Team Fortress 2

Top Pro

Multiple game modes allowing for great variation

TF2 has more than 10 game modes, plus variations on those, as well as community mods that offer a wide range of objective-based play. Classic game modes include Capture the Flag, Control Point, King of the Hill and Payload. There's also Mann vs. Machine, a co-operative game mode where you play against waves of AI controlled enemies. See More

Top Con

Free accounts are slightly limited

Free accounts do not get rare and cosmetic items nor as many storage slots for items. Items are relevant as free accounts can only hold 50, while the game has much more than 50 pieces of equipment (that affect gameplay), let alone 50 weapons. While a premium account player can react to almost all situations with a counter item, with only 50 slots a newbie probably won't have or even be able to access it. A full inventory also means a free player will have to miss out or delete exclusive event items and cosmetics just to play the game as full as they can. A free account is upgraded when any item is purchased with real money from the store. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Hero-based FPS

Co-Op:6 Player Online / 6 Player LAN

Controller Support:Partial

Top Pro

Requires real team cooperation if you want to be successful

More teamfighting, less laning. Games are largely decided by how well each team can work as a unit instead of one player carrying. See More

Top Con

Can feel difficult to make an impact as a solo player

Top Pro

Great story wrapped around in biting and relevant social commentary

Grand Theft Auto V is a smart, comical but biting social commentary on contemporary relevant matters. It satirizes almost anything that has to do with the current pop culture. Millennials, celebrities, the right, the left, the middle class, the upper class, the media and even the video game industry itself. The story and the world in which it takes place are fictional, but the social commentary and the problems it raises and things it satirizes are real -- corruption, greed, hypocrisy, the abuse of power -- are all real and relevant in today's world. See More

Top Con

Forced Rockstar Social Club online registration DRM scheme

Rockstar Social Club is a forced online registration and DRM platform that will not allow one to play the game without first logging in to it. No internet connection, no play. Forget the password to the account three times, get locked out. All hindrances to paying customers that in no way will stop the piracy of this title or effect pirates in any way shape or form. See More

EmbiggenedTibertus's Experience

Online version is most of the time down. See More

Specs

Genre:Action-Adventure

Top Con

Toxic community

As it is a large game, it should come as no surprise that the community just won't be up to par. You may be kicked for strange reasons (like bottom scoring or the all too common random hacking accusation) and many could give you a 7 day ban. It can be very frustrating as missions in the mission system require you to play certain things while crossing your fingers. There are lots of toxic players that can ruin a user's experience. See More

Top Pro

Driven by tactics and cooperation

Each round of CS feels more like a game driven more by careful tactics than a frivolous fast-paced and lethal paintball arena of which too many modern First-Person Shooters are guilty of. Positioning, timing and thinking are key ingredients of a successful game and cooperation is crucial if you want to win. See More

PerceptiveFreyr's Experience

amazing multiplayer experience See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:FPS

See All Specs

Top Con

Damage

You: 80HP in 4 shoots (chest) Enemy: 120 in 2 shoots If you start shooting first, in first wound the enemy should feel pain, not aim 100%. See More

Top Pro

Skill ceiling is extremely high

HumorousLiber's Experience

Top Pro

Local 2 player and online 4 player co-op

Left 4 Dead 2 supports 2 player local co-op as well as 4 player online co-op. See More

Top Con

AI lacks craftiness

The AI has a tendency to make ridiculous choices that can screw up what players are doing. This can become a big problem when relying on AI teammates in order to get through a level. See More

Case Cowboy's Experience

It's fun and addictive! Even better with friends, but that's not required ;) See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:FPS / Action / Zombies

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 2 Player Couch / 4 Player LAN

Top Pro

Incredibly deep gameplay

For players who put the time into Dota 2 to get past the early beginner phase, Dota 2 can become an extremely satisfying game. There's a reason it's one of the most popular eSports titles in the world. The amount of strategy, skill and variables involved make it a very deep game where anything could happen. See More

Top Con

It's got a huge learning curve

Dota 2 has 115 heroes, all of which are unique from each other. It will take time and effort to learn which heroes you like to play, and become skilled with them. See More

CharmingOshun's Experience

shitgame w shitcommunity, worthless waste of time See More

Gameplay is balanced in the sense that while other MOBAs would have only around 30-60 viable picks for the competitive scene, Dota 2 has heroes and strategies in the game that are more varied, which enables more heroes to be picked in the competitive scene. Number of Heroes Picked in Dota 2's Recent Major Tournament in the past 4 months (as of July 2016) is 86/111 heroes picked and 100 out of 111 heroes picked. To compare between Dota 2 and LoL pick diversity, LoL has 64 out of 131 champions picked for LCS. There are also factors such as the ban/pick phase difference and the more rigid positions in LoL that may limit the viability for different playstyles and hero picks (typically it is 2 (AD, Support Bot) -1 (AP mid) -1 (Tank Off) - 1 (Jungler), with a possibility of double junglers in LoL). On the other hand in Dota 2, there are a lot more different positions compared to Lol/Smite such as Duo Mid (1-2-2), Traditional (2-1-2), One Jungler (1-2-1-1, most similar to league), One Roamer (1-2-1-1 as well with the difference being the hero roams the map for kills to create space for the mid and safelane rather than farm the jungle which can weaken a lane), Duo Roamer (1-1-1-2, all lanes are weaker in lane presence with the tradeoff being they get solo experience with two aggressive supports roaming), Trilane (1-1-3, Aggresive or Passive Trilane) and Abandoned Offlane (0-1-3-1 where the offlane is completely left empty due to a strong duo or trilane on the opposing team). More heroes are viable and balanced in Dota 2 partly due to the greater flexibility in laning. This can be attributed the mechanics such as creep pulling and creep stacking which allows the team doing trilane to make up for the shared experience between three heroes. Besides that, the existence of teleport scrolls that allow you to defend your towers or punish a tower dive also allows you to react and assist other lanes. In pub games, any hero/lane/lineup can work, and it is more about your individual mechanical skills (understanding of hero, combo execution, map awareness, last hitting, timings, item builds, flow) over the lack of coordination and teamwork (on both teams). See More

Top Pro

Dota 2 has the world's biggest e-sports tournament

At The International 7 in summer 2017, players raised the prize pool to more than $23 million, one of the largest prize pools in E-Sports history. See More

Top Pro

Excellent opportunity to work on people skills

Improving team morale and willingness to work together goes a long way toward winning matches. See More

See All

Titanfall

Top Con

Everything is online-only

Having everything online means you're at the mercy of your internet connection. If you disconnect during a story mode match, for example, then you risk losing all progress and having to start over again. The story isn't exactly something you can skip, either, since you have to play through it if you want to unlock all of the Titans. For those with decent connections, you'll probably be okay, but anyone else should be wary about dealing with frequent interruptions. See More

Top Pro

Thrilling first-person shooter multiplayer with teams of six

Titanfall is a great team-based FPS game with well-designed gunplay. Running and gunning with your team of six friends or online players is fast-paced, with tons of destruction on the battlefield all around you. You rely on twitch reflexes to gun down enemies as soon as you see one rounding a corner, or to react in time to someone shooting at you and taking you by surprise. Though there aren't too many guns to choose from, the ones you can pick are each unique and fun to use. Everything feels balanced in a way that's well thought-out, leading to frantic and intense multiplayer matches. See More

Specs

Genre:First-Person Shooter, Multiplayer

Co-Op:6 Player Online

Top Pro

Online and local versus modes are available

There are a handful of games in the collection that allow you to play against others both online and locally. You can join a friend for a match through a local connection or online, or you can go online for matchmaking against someone else. This is a really neat feature that's a lot like playing against someone else in an actual coin arcade. See More

Top Con

Some online connection issues

There are a few issues when playing matches online. Depending on how poor your opponent's connection is, you may have to deal with lag. If their connection is decent, then you won't have to worry about it. It's pretty much hit-or-miss on whether your matches will be stable or not, since it's completely out of your control. See More

Specs

Genre:Fighting

Co-Op:2 Player Local / 2 Player Online

Top Pro

Free to play

Everything that affects gameplay in Paladins can be unlocked simply by playing. However, there are cosmetic items available for purchase if you'd like to support the developers. See More

Top Con

Still in beta

Paladins is not a perfect game due to its constant lags and bugs. It heavily relies on new patches to fix them. See More

JACKSON SINGLETON's Experience

Started playing when i was 10 and now im addicted. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Online PvP and team PvP multiplayer

Mortal Kombat X has included online multiplayer modes where players can fight against online friends or strangers in ranked and unranked matches. there is also a team mode as well as king of the hill. See More

Top Con

In game currency purposely made more difficult to earn post release

Mortal Kombat X's difficulty for obtaining in game currency has been day one patched to be more difficult to receive in order to push players into spending more money on the game, despite just paying full price upon it's release. On top of this, most reviews for the game were done before the patch, which of course conveniently falsely represents the actual patched release version in the developers and publishers favor. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Fighting

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score 23 · Accepted Answer

Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn

The 6 must play gamesWhy?

My Recommendation for Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn

My Recommendation for Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn

All classes can be played with one character

Pay to play

Plenty of side-quests to keep the player busy

An absolutely stunning game

The story is incredible

Combat is very in-depth

My Recommendation for Dragon Ball FighterZ

My Recommendation for Dragon Ball FighterZ

Combat is easy to learn and difficult to master

No honor in online matches

Characters work well together in combat and in cutscenes

Story mode is padded and repetitive

The game looks just like the anime

Online lobbies are a mess

Healthy roster of characters

My Recommendation for Borderlands 2

My Recommendation for Borderlands 2

Variety of co-op options

Gameplay can become repetitive

Humorous writing in a game with a serious tone

Limited visual customization of characters

Allows for multiple playstyles

Lack of diversity among weapons

Great comic book art style

Tedious to check gun stats

Enjoyable co-op play that focuses on teamwork

Boring bulletsponge enemies

Tons of heavily customized and unique loot

Lost loot due to sharing

It's very unique

Works on different OS's: Linux/Mac/Win

Takes incredibly long to stop being interesting

Each playthrough is a different experience

Procedurally generated loot

My Recommendation for Monster Hunter: World

My Recommendation for Monster Hunter: World

Dynamic and immersive world

Frustratingly difficult at times

Exhilarating hunting gameplay

Engaging crafting-based progression system

Awesome graphics

A great variety of weapons to choose from

My Recommendation for Don't Starve Together

My Recommendation for Don't Starve Together

There's never a dull moment

Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring

Easy to get started but has a lot of depth

Can get repetitive

Rewarding roguelike gameplay

Much grinding

Lots of replayability

Great story generator

Easily customized to adjust difficulty

Uniquely atmospheric art style

Fun crafting system

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

Very active modding community with numerous mods available

Great replay value

Deep and varied crafting system

The further you get, the more you will learn

My Recommendation for World of Warcraft

My Recommendation for World of Warcraft

Most recognized MMO in existence

Subscription required

Very polished

Class homogenisation

Constant stream of new content

It's all about the destination, not the journey

Low system requirements

41 Other Games Considered

My Recommendation for Team Fortress 2

My Recommendation for Team Fortress 2

Multiple game modes allowing for great variation

Free accounts are slightly limited

Fair free to play model

Random critical hits add a significant luck element into the game and push certain types of players out

Fun, humorous gameplay, graphics and sound