Best two-player games on Xbox in 2026

It Takes Two is our number one pick, with Cuphead second and Unravel Two third. It Takes Two and Unravel Two are built around a second player rather than tolerating one, and Cuphead is the rare solo game that gets better with one.

We ranked these two player Xbox games on how well they hold up with exactly two people in the room. A game that only shines with four friends online does not win here.

Player ratings on these Xbox listings run from 3.4 to 4.8 out of 5, and nine of the ten declare local co-op outright. Prices start at $14.99, three picks come free with a subscription you might already hold, and one of them costs nothing for the second player.

Our top 10 picks compared

The best two-player games on Xbox, ranked

The list runs from full campaigns down to picks a pair can finish a round of in five minutes.

1. It Takes Two

Every level in It Takes Two assumes a second pair of hands. Hazelight built it as a co-op adventure, and the listing describes nothing you would do alone. If your partner's on PlayStation or PC, check whether It Takes Two supports crossplay first.

Top spot goes to the pick that treats two-player as the design rather than a mode. Friend's Pass invites the second player in for free, so one copy covers the pair of you.

• Best for: Two people who want a full campaign together, start to finish
• Standout: Friend's Pass brings a friend along at no cost, and the listing sets local and online co-op at exactly two players with split-screen support
• The catch: There is no solo mode at all, and the Teen age rating puts it above the family picks here
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $39.99, released 25 March 2021. Friend's Pass is a separate free download that covers the second player. Not on Game Pass or EA Play
• Rating: 4.8 out of 5 on the Xbox store (11,859 ratings)

2. Cuphead

Studio MDHR drew this one by hand, cel by cel, in the style of 1930s cartoons, then recorded original jazz to sit under it. Run and gun stages lead into boss fights that carry most of the game.

Second place reflects how well a hard game splits between two people, because one player reading a boss pattern helps the other survive it. Difficulty is what keeps it behind It Takes Two.

• Best for: Two players who want a genuine challenge and will keep retrying
• Standout: Hand-drawn cel animation, watercolor backdrops, and original jazz recordings, all produced with 1930s techniques
• The catch: A 2017 release with punishing boss patterns, and local co-op only, so there's no way to play it together from separate houses
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $19.99, released 29 September 2017
• Rating: 4.5 out of 5 on the Xbox store (33,210 ratings)

3. Unravel Two

Coldwood Interactive built this around two Yarnys tied together, which makes the second player structural rather than optional. Local co-op runs at exactly two players, and the listing confirms split-screen.

Third is an editorial call on a two-character co-op platformer, a softer landing than the two games above it for a pair who do not want a reflex test. It's also one of only three picks here rated Everyone, which matters if one of the two is young.

• Best for: Two people who want puzzles and platforming without the difficulty spike
• Standout: An Everyone rating and a PEGI 7, putting it among the three gentlest picks in this top 10
• The catch: Local co-op only, with no online option, so both players need to be on the same couch
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $19.99, released 9 June 2018. Also included with EA Play
• Rating: 4.3 out of 5 on the Xbox store (2,574 ratings)

HeyCash pays you for inviting friends. Send someone your referral link and you get 10% of everything they earn on the app.

Visit HeyCash

4. Overcooked! 2

Kitchens fall apart fast in the Onion Kingdom. Orders stack up, the floor moves under you, and two chefs have to talk their way through the mess, side by side or online.

Fourth is where the party picks start, and this is the sharpest of them for a duo. Local and online co-op both scale from two players to four, so the same copy still works when friends turn up. Teaming across consoles means checking Overcooked 2's crossplay support.

• Best for: Two players who want pressure and do not mind raised voices
• Standout: A Family & kids listing that still demands real coordination, with couch co-op and online play both running from two to four
• The catch: A 2018 release, and no split-screen flag on the listing, so plan on sharing one screen
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $24.99, released 7 August 2018
• Rating: 4.3 out of 5 on the Xbox store (2,435 ratings)

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Side-scrolling brawling down a city street is the whole game here. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael fight through stages drawn to match the 1987 cartoon, with clear nods to Turtles In Time.

The second-highest rating here, 4.6 out of 5 from 9,454 ratings, earns it fifth. Two players reading the same side-scrolling street get a clean view of every fight, and there's room for four more if the evening grows.

• Best for: Two players who want arcade combat and the 1987 Turtles look
• Standout: Local and online co-op both run to six players, the widest couch co-op ceiling in this top 10, with cross-platform co-op on top
• The catch: Stage-by-stage brawling repeats by design, and there's no split-screen, so six players share one view
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $24.99, released 16 June 2022
• Rating: 4.6 out of 5 on the Xbox store (9,454 ratings)

6. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Nine films, 23 planets, and more than 300 playable characters sit inside one game. TT Games covers the entire Skywalker story in a single package.

Sixth suits a pair who want something long rather than something tight. Co-op is local only and capped at two, which is exactly right for this list even if it rules out a third player later.

• Best for: Two people with a lot of evenings to fill
• Standout: More than 300 playable characters, over 100 vehicles, and 23 planets spanning all nine films
• The catch: A collect-everything structure that runs very long, and local co-op only, with no online option
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: Included with Game Pass on console. Buying outright is awkward, because the standard edition isn't sold separately on the Xbox store right now, leaving the Galactic Edition at $79.99 as the only purchase route
• Rating: 4.3 out of 5 on the Xbox store (9,666 ratings)

7. Party Animals

Physics-driven brawling between puppies and kittens needs no explanation for two people. Recreate Games built it for short rounds and pratfalls rather than anything you'd call a campaign.

Seven is as high as it goes, because it's the one pick here that declares no local co-op at all, which is a real limitation for a couch game. Split-screen is flagged even so, so check the store page for how a second player joins before you plan an evening around it.

• Best for: Two players who want something silly they can finish in five minutes
• Standout: Online multiplayer runs to eight players with cross-platform support, so a pair can grow into a lobby
• The catch: No local co-op declared on the listing, and the lowest rating of the party picks
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $19.99, released 20 September 2023
• Rating: 3.6 out of 5 on the Xbox store (6,358 ratings)

8. Gang Beasts

Boneloaf's wobbly brawler drops two players into a hazard-filled arena and lets the physics do the comedy. Gang Beasts also brawls through our two-player games on Switch list. Rounds last a minute, and nobody needs a tutorial.

Eighth places a physics party brawler where a pair can dip in for a round or two. It's the better couch option of the two brawlers, since local co-op runs to four here where Party Animals declares none.

• Best for: Two players who want a quick brawl rather than a campaign
• Standout: Local co-op to four and online co-op to eight, and it's on Game Pass, so trying it costs nothing if you subscribe
• The catch: No split-screen, and the joke wears thin over a long session
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $19.99, released 27 March 2019. Also included with Game Pass on console
• Rating: 3.9 out of 5 on the Xbox store (22,294 ratings)

9. Biped

NExT Studios built Biped as a co-op action adventure with a strong focus on moment-to-moment collaboration between two players. Biped also features on our co-op games on Switch list. The listing files it under Action & adventure, Family & kids, and Platformer, which is a narrow enough brief to make the coordination the point.

Nine fits a small game with a narrow ask, and like It Takes Two it's locked to exactly two players on both local and online co-op. Its rating is the weakest in this top 10, though 211 ratings is a thin sample next to the rest of the list.

• Best for: Two players who prefer coordination puzzles to combat
• Standout: Split-screen and cross-platform play, so the second player can be on the couch or on a PC
• The catch: 3.4 out of 5 is the lowest player rating in this list, from the smallest sample here by a wide margin
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $14.99, released 18 September 2020. The cheapest pick here
• Rating: 3.4 out of 5 on the Xbox store (211 ratings)

10. Portal Knights

Portal Knights hands you a pickaxe and a sandbox to dig into. Crafting weapons, leveling a character, and building almost anything fill the hours, with real-time fights in between.

Last place is about pacing rather than quality, since the crafting loop takes a while to open up. Co-op runs from two to four both locally and online, so a long build survives a friend joining halfway.

• Best for: Two players who want a long building and crafting project
• Standout: A cooperative 3D sandbox action RPG built on character leveling, crafting, and real-time combat
• The catch: A 2017 release, and several sessions of groundwork before the sandbox gets interesting
• Platforms: Xbox
• Price and monetization: $19.99, released 23 May 2017
• Rating: 4.0 out of 5 on the Xbox store (1,692 ratings)

How we picked these 10

Every rank above is our editorial recommendation rather than the result of a benchmark. Official Xbox store listings supplied the age ratings, player ratings, prices, release dates, and player counts for all ten entries, checked in August 2026.

Five things decided the order.

• Genre fit: whether two-player is the design or a bolt-on mode
• Quality: how well the game, the co-op systems, and the presentation hold together
• Current relevance: whether the game is still sold, supported, and worth starting now
• Accessibility: how quickly a second player can pick up a controller and contribute
• Replayability: whether a pair has a reason to come back after the credits

Player ratings move as more people vote, so treat the scores and counts above as a snapshot rather than a fixed number. Prices shift too, particularly around sales, and the figures here are the standard list prices rather than any discount running on the day you read this.

Which two-player Xbox game to start tonight

Put It Takes Two on first if you have a partner for the whole run, because Friend's Pass means only one of you has to buy it. Anyone who wants a challenge instead should start Cuphead and expect to lose the first hour to one boss. Couch racers should line up our best Xbox racing games instead, since most of them run split-screen for two.

Short evenings call for a different answer. Overcooked! 2 gets a pair laughing inside one round, and Gang Beasts does the same in less time still, at no extra cost if you already hold Game Pass. For bigger Xbox lobbies, our multiplayer Xbox games list widens it out.

• Working through levels together: It Takes Two, Unravel Two
• Testing your reflexes: Cuphead, Overcooked! 2
• Bringing extra friends in later: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, which runs to six
• Arcade fights with a retro look: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
• Settling in for weeks: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Portal Knights
• Five spare minutes: Gang Beasts, Party Animals
• Playing on a budget: Biped at $14.99, Gang Beasts and LEGO Star Wars on Game Pass, or Unravel Two on EA Play