The Best Co-Op Sports Games, Ranked

The world of sporting games is a fascinating one. While gamers may have experienced everything under the sun being playable in a video game, there is a certain enduring thrill to many sports games that doesn’t grow tired or generate any less revenue despite the ever-expanding gaming industry finding more and more things to focus on.

Related

6 Best Strategy Sports Games, Ranked

Sports games are some of the most popular titles around, but the sports strategy niche is less well known, and features some fantastic games as well.

Posts

By  Ritwik Mitra

Almost since sports games were invented, and they have been around for a long time, they have been co-op. Playing alongside or against friends has always given a certain competitive thrill in sporting games that is difficult to replicate against a computer-based opponent. As such, from racing games to football and from tennis to basketball, these are some of the most beloved co-op sporting games today.

7 EA Sports FC 24

Metacritic Score: 75

The great FIFA franchise which has so righteously dominated the video gaming sphere for decades as the first and foremost way to play football virtually changed massively this year. Removing the FIFA name and re-branding has not stopped the dominance over the football game market which this franchise holds, as FC 24 guides this franchise forward into the future.

One of the best co-op gaming experiences available, FC 24, allows players to join together as part of the same team or against each other. This can be done locally or flawlessly online, with various game modes available. For many years now, and likely many years to come, this franchise, under whatever name it may reside, has given sporting fans one of their favorite gaming experiences alone or in cooperative play.

6 Wii Sports

Metacritic Score: 76

Wii Sports, one of the most memorable classic sporting games of all time, was a launch title for the highly successful Nintendo console. Though there weren’t many truly great games known specifically for the Nintendo Wii, this title has become synonymous with the console, a feat achieved by almost no other game in history.

Related

7 Best indie Sports Games, Ranked

As the AAA sports game market continues to stagnate, these indie sports games have stepped in to offer something new and exciting to the genre.

Posts

By  Henry Whiting

Wii Sports allowed an entire group to come together, with all the trappings and delights of the Wii’s controls, and play alongside and against each other in five different sporting events. With a truly iconic status, rare even amongst the greatest sporting games, Wii Sports can never be truly matched for the kind of easy-going co-op sports gaming experience it provides.

5 Riders Republic

Metacritic Score: 77

It is surprising how long it took for a true breakthrough sporting game that focuses on the extreme side of sporting activity, but Riders Republic has certainly done that and more. Allowing players to try mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and wing-suit flying, Riders Republic has created one of the closest approximations to a massively multiplayer sports game available.

With up to 64 players able to compete in mass races, and individual teaming with friends available in Free-For-All and Trick Battle modes, there are a ton of options available in co-op and multiplayer. Riders Republic is a fantastical game that has managed to garner a longer shelf life than most sporting games have already. With a completely different playstyle, there are now far more things that a sporting game can be, from massively multiplayer to open-world.

4 MLB The Show 24

Metacritic Score: 80

The various major American sports all have their own sporting game franchises, but the most recent set of installments has rendered the baseball franchise at the top of the list right now without a doubt. MLB The Show has had ups and downs, as has every major sporting franchise with such a lengthy history and such consistency in releases.

But The Show 24 has outdone itself, making many small adjustments to perfect already existing formulae that have worked for years, and extending last year’s storylines mode, as well as bringing both 2v2 and 3v3 co-op options to general games and to ranked games as well, enabling players to join together for some serious competition.

3 WWE 2K24

Metacritic Score: 81

There is one sporting series that has managed to have far more ups and downs than many others. Taking on the role of one’s favorite WWE superstar has always had a special thrill, even within the world of sporting games, in which players are capable of becoming many of their sporting heroes. The WWE 2K series has provided many beloved entries, and the most recent is a huge victory.

Related

5 Sports Games With The Best Graphics

No matter what sport they're simulating, these video games bring the best visuals to the genre.

Posts

By  Andrew McLarney

Many different game modes and features are requested for a franchise like WWE 2K every year, but after some problems in recent years, the series is back on a high with WWE 2K24. Many new and old faces are playable, and more types of matches and game modes can be used than ever before, making for a whole lot of cooperative gameplay options from tag team matches online to taking control of rival shows in the GM mode. There are many ways to play together in this edition of the beloved 2K franchise.

2 Rocket League

Metacritic Score: 85

One of the most beloved sporting games of all time, Rocket League took a novel idea for an arcade game and transformed it, finding more popularity than could be believed for a game where two teams play football while controlling cars instead of individual players. With some of the most impressive-looking gameplay in the world when done correctly, Rocket League is a favorite for sports lovers to play together.

Traditionally played by two teams of two, Rocket League is the perfect sort of game to play consistently with a friend. The competitive and unique nature of the game makes it a must-see for sports fans, as it creates something entirely different from any other sports game and does something that would be near-impossible to do as a real sport, and the recent season 15 update has made it clear that Rocket League remains one of the most beloved sporting games today.

1 Gran Turismo 7

Metacritic Score: 87

One of the peaks of gaming to be found for the PlayStation 5 era thus far, Gran Turismo 7 was a momentous release for that console as well for the franchise, which has been beloved for decades as one of the most accurate and fascinating sporting series, and some of the very best racing/driving games ever created. However, after the disappointing release of Gran Turismo Sport, the franchise needed an uplift and got one in a major way from Gran Turismo 7.

With the GT mode on an absolute high, as well as more customization and car options than any other entry ever, Gran Turismo 7 is a game that can’t be praised enough. Players have all sorts of co-op options and versus races to engage in alongside their friends, making Gran Turismo, not for the first time, the peak of co-op sporting action in gaming.

More

9 Great Extreme Sports Games

Extreme sports are no stranger to video games. Enthusiasts shouldn't miss these examples.

Posts

By  Andy Chapman