Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to eight players online.
  • Is it on Game Pass? No.

What is there left to say about GTA Online really? An absolute behemoth with a life of its own at this point, it’s an unstoppable online juggernaut that’s filled the coffers of Rockstar several times over and, in the process, provided an endlessly evolving world absolutely teeming with possibilities for groups of friends and strangers to jump into together.

Besides just blasting around creating absolute mayhem with pals, there are also plenty of set missions, story content and delightfully complex heists to plan and execute here with enough depth to the character creation and personalisation aspects of proceedings that you can pretty much pimp every aspect of your existence within San Andreas. GTA Online has been with us since 2013 and eight years down the line it’s as busy and bursting with life as ever.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to four players online or two players locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? Yes.

Six Halo games packed into one great big beautiful package and every one of them fully playable in local and online co-op? Count us in! Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an absolute dreamland for FPS fans who like to hook up with friends to take the fight to the Covenant.

Each and every campaign here is fully playable in co-op and, alongside the series’ expansive suite of multiplayer offerings - all presented in glorious 4K and running at up to 120fps on Series X – amounts to an essential collection that’s an absolute must-play for co-op shooter fans.

It Takes Two (Xbox Series X|S)

  • How many players: 2 players online or locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? No.

One of the most recent and high profile additions to the co-operative genre, It Takes Two marks the return of the team behind A Way Out with an utterly charming adventure that sees two players team up – in either online or local split-screen co-op – in order to save a failing marriage.

Besides looking and sounding fantastic, It Takes Two’s magic lies in how it successfully manages to crib so many different mechanics from other genres, gives them its own unique twist and successfully weaves them into a thoroughly absorbing and heartfelt adventure that provides standout action sequences, boss battles and puzzles whilst also dealing with some thought-provoking subject matter.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to two players locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? No.

Just about any of the various Lego games currently available to play on Xbox could have taken this spot but, for us, the Lego Marvel and Star Wars collections come out on top for local co-operative fun.

These are some wonderfully well-written, brilliantly put together games that allow for plenty of chaotic action and brick collecting as you explore various iconic locations from both movie franchises. Filled with lots of little in-jokes, clever cameos and tons of lore for fans to dig into there are hours of top-notch entertainment for friends to dig into together here and they’re also perfectly suited for younger gamers, making for great titles to grab if you’re interested in gaming with your kids.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Xbox Series X|S)

  • How Many Players? Two player local co-op
  • Is It On Game Pass? No

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a great big celebration of everything Star Wars that updates and improves everything we know and love about the LEGO Star Wars series. The upgrades to the franchise's core gameplay here — the combo-focused combat, flashy space battles, boss encounters, over-the-shoulder shooting action and cover system — all combine to make this the very best LEGO Star Wars has ever felt to play. Throw in a humongous open world setting that's bursting at the seams with secrets and collectibles and you've got an absolute smorgasbord of all things Star Wars to dig into. A must-play for one or two players!

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to four players locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? No.

If you’re after some frantic couch co-op for up to four people, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime may well be right up your street. This one’s all about fast, tight teamwork as you and your crew attempt to strike a delicate balance between flying your great big neon spaceship, manning its weapons in order to destroy enemies and taking care of its engines and shields, resulting in a lot of running to and fro.

The chaos that ensues as you try to rescue various creatures whilst moving from station to station aboard your craft in order to stay alive ensures that every round of this game provides plenty of hilarious, tense and exciting action. With gorgeous art style and solid tactical gameplay, this is an indie gem that we highly recommend you try out!

Minecraft

  • How many players: Up to eight players online or four players locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? Yes.

Creating and crafting in Mojang’s masterpiece is an all-consuming pastime when approached alone. Get a couple of friends together in local or online multiplayer, however, and the experience is taken to another level. Whether you’re venturing forth to reach the End and destroy the Ender Dragon or just building, crafting and experimenting in creative mode, Minecraft is a truly joyous, educational and addictively fun way to kick back and relax with pals.

Minecraft Dungeons (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to four players online or locally.
  • Is it on Game Pass? Yes.

An entertaining dungeon-crawling spin-off, Minecraft Dungeons is a child-friendly action RPG that’s a perfect introduction to the genre for younger gamers. Combat here is straightforward stuff, levels are easy to traverse and the whole thing is pulled together by some excellent visuals, surprisingly deep customisation options and the ease with which you can jump in and out of multiplayer action.

There’s already been a few DLC drops for this one, expanding the world map and adding to the available weapons, armour and loot and, with the latest Echoing Void expansion having just been released, now is a great time to grab some friends and jump in to kick some blocky butt.

Monster Hunter: World (Xbox One)

  • How many players: Up to four players online.
  • Is it on Game Pass? No.

Capcom’s long-running Monster Hunter franchise finally managed to go mainstream with this epic new addition to the series. The general gist of the gameplay is still the same as ever here, you’ll spend your time carefully preparing to do battle with the game’s amazing monsters, but everything about Monster Hunter World feels slicker, more modern and user-friendly than its predecessors.

There’s a proper open world for the first time here too, a stunning setting for the intricate running battles you and up to three friends will take part in as you get out and explore the game’s vast map in order to hunt and slay your prey. The recent Iceborne expansion also adds a whole new campaign to proceedings alongside a ton of new ranks, events and an entirely new region to explore. Co-operative monster-hunting action doesn’t get much better than this and you can easily spend hundreds of hours getting to know the ins and outs of how to take down every single beast in the game.

Nobody Saves The World (Xbox Series X|S)

  • How many players: Up to two online or in local co-op
  • Is it on Game Pass? Yes

Canadian developer Drinkbox Studios never lets us down with the sterling quality of their indie releases, with the likes of the superb Guacamelee series, Severed and Mutant Blobs Attack rounding out an impressive back catalogue.

And so, it's quite understandable that we've all been waiting with baited breath for their latest game, Nobody Saves The World, to finally arrive on Xbox Game Pass, with the studio once again nailing it. This is a colourful and clever dungeon-crawling romp with a bevvy of smart mechanics up its sleeve, including the ability to transform into everything from a robot, to a ghost, dinosaur, rat and warrior knight as you blaze a trail through its wonderfully well-designed dungeons and boss battles. What's more the whole adventure can be enjoyed in two player co-op either locally or online!