Halo Infinite is our number one among the best multiplayer Xbox games in 2026, with Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition second and Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition third.
We ranked these 10 on how well they hold a group together, not on how many modes the store page lists. What a game costs to get everyone in matters, and on that front the answer has changed.
Seven of these ten are on Game Pass, so if the group already subscribes, most of this list costs nothing extra. Halo Infinite goes further and asks nothing of anyone. Published prices run from $24.99 to $59.99, player ratings run from 3.5 to 4.9 out of 5, and four picks work on one console in the same room.
Our top 10 picks compared
| Rank | Game | Best for | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halo Infinite | Getting a whole group in without anyone paying | Free to play, or Game Pass |
| 2 | Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition | Crews who want other players to be the threat | $39.99, or Game Pass |
| 3 | Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition | Mixed-age groups who want zero setup | $59.99, or Game Pass |
| 4 | Minecraft | Groups with mixed skill levels | Paid, price unconfirmed |
| 5 | Grounded | A weekly group up for a survival project | $39.99, or Game Pass |
| 6 | Gears 5 | Cover shooting with a squad | $29.99, or Game Pass |
| 7 | Split Fiction | Two players, one story built for two | $49.99 |
| 8 | Overcooked! 2 | Four people in the same room or online | $24.99, or Game Pass |
| 9 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Working through older Halo together | $39.99, or Game Pass |
| 10 | Grand Theft Auto V | An open online city instead of matches | $39.99 |
The best multiplayer games on Xbox, ranked
Here is a closer look at the top ten picks, starting with the best.
1. Halo Infinite
Nobody has to spend a cent to squad up with you here. 343 Industries put the multiplayer out as a free-to-play release, so getting a full team into an arena match costs a download and nothing more.
First place goes to the pick that solves the hardest part of console multiplayer, getting everyone in at once. Seven games on this list are free to a Game Pass subscriber, but this is the only one that's free to everybody else too, and that's the difference when one friend in the group doesn't subscribe.
- Best for: Getting a full group into a competitive match without anyone buying in
- Standout: The multiplayer is free to play with no subscription needed, and matches run up to 24 players
- The catch: A 3.6 out of 5 store rating is the second-weakest here, the campaign is a separate $59.99 purchase, and the Teen rating rules out the youngest players
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: Multiplayer free to play. The campaign is $59.99, or included with Game Pass
- Rating: 3.6 out of 5 on the Xbox store (22,013 ratings)
2. Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition
Every other ship on the horizon is a crew of real players deciding what to do about you. Rare built a shared world where the pressure comes from other people instead of scripted enemies. Sailing with friends on PlayStation or PC means checking whether Sea of Thieves is crossplay.
Craft is what earns second. This is the most carefully built world in our top 10, and the sail, fight, or run decision still feels current eight years after launch. At 118,612 ratings it's also the second most reviewed game here, so 3.7 out of 5 is a settled verdict rather than an early one.
- Best for: Crews who want other players to be the threat
- Standout: An open shared world with crossplay co-op for up to four, where run-ins with other crews shape the whole session
- The catch: A 2018 release, a middling 3.7 out of 5, and no way to share one console between crew members
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $39.99, released 20 March 2018. Also included with Game Pass
- Rating: 3.7 out of 5 on the Xbox store (118,612 ratings)
3. Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition
Racing here is a rolling open-world festival rather than a menu of circuits. Playground Games keeps the map busy enough that a convoy of friends can split off and still count as playing together.
Third place comes down to who you can invite. An Everyone rating, a PEGI 3, and driving that needs no explanation make this the safest thing to put in front of a mixed group.
- Best for: Mixed-age groups who want to play together without a tutorial
- Standout: The gentlest age rating on this list, with online co-op for six and multiplayer sessions up to 12
- The catch: 3.5 out of 5 is the lowest rating in this top 10, $59.99 is the steepest price, and Forza Horizon 6 is now out on Game Pass, so check which one your group wants
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $59.99, released 9 November 2021. Also included with Game Pass
- Rating: 3.5 out of 5 on the Xbox store (31,131 ratings)
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4. Minecraft
Survival mode with three friends is still one of the easiest group nights to organize on Xbox. Mining and building scale from two people messing around to a shared long-term project, with creative mode waiting for anyone who wants no pressure at all. Playing across devices is the Minecraft cross-platform play question our guide answers.
Accessibility is the whole argument for fourth. Everybody becomes useful inside five minutes, which is rare on this list, and no other pick asks so little of the person who has never played it.
- Best for: Groups with mixed skill levels and no shared goal yet
- Standout: Survival and creative modes in one package, with crossplay that reaches players on almost any device
- The catch: The Everyone 10+ rating is a step up from the family picks here, and it's the one entry on this list where we couldn't confirm the current console price, so check the store page
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: Paid download. We could not confirm a current console price from the store listing, so we publish none. Not on Game Pass
- Age rating: Everyone 10+, PEGI 7
5. Grounded
Shrink a group to the size of an ant, then drop them in a backyard where the insects tower over everything. Obsidian Entertainment builds the whole thing on scavenging and base building, so the survival grind only pays off for a group that keeps showing up. Building that base across platforms means checking whether Grounded is crossplay.
Fifth place reflects how much buy-in it needs. Co-op survival rewards a crew that plays weekly and falls apart when people drift, though a 4.3 out of 5 across 38,880 ratings says the people who stuck with it were glad they did.
- Best for: A regular group ready to commit to one long survival run
- Standout: Survival play at insect scale, with crossplay co-op for up to four
- The catch: A Teen rating, $39.99 to get everyone in if nobody subscribes, and no local co-op, so four players means four consoles
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $39.99, released 27 September 2022. Also included with Game Pass
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 on the Xbox store (38,880 ratings)
6. Gears 5
The Coalition rebuilt both halves of this one for Xbox Series X and S, and the multiplayer took the bigger refresh. Cover-based shooting is the whole appeal, whether a squad wants competitive matches or a line to hold together.
The age rating is what holds it to sixth, and nothing else. On the numbers this is the most convincing game on the list, with 4.6 out of 5 from 368,895 ratings, the largest sample here by a distance and a score only Split Fiction beats. Mature 17+ simply shrinks the group you can invite, which is the one thing this list is built around.
- Best for: Squads who want cover shooting instead of an open world
- Standout: The most heavily reviewed pick here by far, with split-screen co-op for three on one console and multiplayer up to 10
- The catch: A Mature 17+ rating narrows who can join, and a 2019 shooter is no longer the newest thing your squad could be playing
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $29.99, released 10 September 2019. Also included with Game Pass
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5 on the Xbox store (368,895 ratings)
7. Split Fiction
Nothing else in this top 10 scores higher than its 4.9 out of 5, drawn from 2,484 ratings. Hazelight Studios AB built a co-op adventure that keeps throwing both players into invented worlds, and it is the newest release in our order.
Seventh place is about shape, not quality. A story written for you and one other person cannot cover the group sessions this list is built around, and at $49.99 with no Game Pass route it is the most expensive way here to entertain exactly two people.
- Best for: Two players who want one adventure designed for exactly two
- Standout: Local and online co-op both locked to two, with split-screen, so one console and one copy covers a pair
- The catch: No solo mode at all, no Game Pass route, and a hard ceiling of two players, so a third friend is left out
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $49.99, released 6 March 2025. Not on Game Pass
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 on the Xbox store (2,484 ratings)
8. Overcooked! 2
Four cooks, one cramped kitchen, orders that never stop arriving. Ghost Town Games and Team17 made the rare multiplayer game that works on a single couch or online for up to four players. Playing across platforms means checking Overcooked 2 cross-platform play.
Rank eight has nothing to do with how well it plays with people. At $24.99 this is the cheapest confirmed price here and one of only two picks rated Everyone, but a 2018 party game runs out of road faster than the campaigns and shared worlds above it.
- Best for: Four people who want short bursts of chaos, together or online
- Standout: Couch co-op and online play both running to four, on a Family & kids listing
- The catch: A 2018 release, and the listing flags no split-screen, so four players share one view
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $24.99, released 7 August 2018. The lowest confirmed price on this list, and also on Game Pass
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 on the Xbox store (2,435 ratings)
9. Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Six Halo games arrive in one download, which is a lot of shared history for one group to work through.
Ninth place is the overlap. Most of what a group wants from Halo multiplayer already sits at number one for free, so this buys the back catalog rather than the current game. It earns its place on split-screen alone, since two players on one console is something Halo Infinite cannot do.
- Best for: Groups working through older Halo multiplayer and campaigns together
- Standout: Six games in one package, with split-screen co-op and multiplayer up to 16
- The catch: A Mature 17+ rating, and heavy overlap with the free pick at number one
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $39.99, released 14 November 2019. Also included with Game Pass
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 on the Xbox store (9,032 ratings)
10. Grand Theft Auto V
Los Santos comes in two halves, and the online one is why it belongs on a multiplayer list. Rockstar Games keeps story mode and Grand Theft Auto Online in the same package, and your friends live entirely in the second. In story mode, our GTA 5 cheats for Xbox guide lists every code.
The listing is what drops it to tenth. Of all ten picks, this is the only one whose current Xbox store record declares no multiplayer modes at all, which is an odd thing to find on a game people mainly play with other people. Grand Theft Auto Online is real and busy, but you are buying on reputation rather than on anything the store page promises.
- Best for: Groups who want an open online city instead of matches
- Standout: Story mode and Grand Theft Auto Online in one package
- The catch: A Mature 17+ rating, no Game Pass route, and a store listing that declares no multiplayer, so check what your purchase includes before the group commits
- Platforms: Xbox
- Price and monetization: $39.99, released 15 June 2022. Not on Game Pass
- Rating: 3.9 out of 5 on the Xbox store (2,900 ratings)
How we picked these 10
Every rank above is our editorial recommendation, not the output of a benchmark. Official Xbox store listings supplied the developer, release date, price, age rating, player ratings, and player counts, checked in August 2026, and five things shaped the order.
- Genre fit: whether multiplayer is the point of the design or one mode among many
- Quality: how well the systems and the craft hold up
- Current relevance: whether it is still worth starting a group on in 2026
- Accessibility: how fast a new player becomes useful to the team
- Replayability: whether week two has anything left to offer
One entry needs a caveat. We could not confirm a current console price for Minecraft from the store data, so we publish none rather than guess. Everything else here comes straight from the listings. Player ratings move as more people vote and prices shift around sales, so treat both as a snapshot.
Where to start with Xbox multiplayer this week
Load Halo Infinite first when the group is new or scattered, because nobody needs to buy or subscribe to anything to show up. A crew that already plays every week gets far more out of Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition or Grounded.
The room decides the rest. On PlayStation, our PS5 multiplayer games list covers the same ground. Everyone on one couch should run Overcooked! 2 or Gears 5, while a pair after a single story takes Split Fiction.
- Nobody wants to spend money: Halo Infinite
- The group already has Game Pass: Gears 5, Grounded, Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition
- Mixed ages in the room: Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition, Overcooked! 2, Minecraft
- A regular weekly group: Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition, Grounded
- Exactly two players: Split Fiction
- Sharing one console: Gears 5, Overcooked! 2, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Split Fiction
- Competitive shooting: Gears 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- An open online city: Grand Theft Auto V
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