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Time is really running out — the 2025 Steam Summer Sale is almost over, and by the time you read this, there are only going to be a few hours left. Now, when it comes to major single-player titles, most of us do end up getting those anyway, either on Steam or through physical versions for consoles. For me, the Summer Sale is all about buying multiplayer titles that I wouldn't otherwise buy because they're — most probably — not in my friends' libraries either.
However, this is when you can just up and buy two copies instead of one, just to be able to gift your friends a copy of a multiplayer game you've been meaning to try, without blowing a crater in your wallet. From older games that are available at dirt-cheap rates today, to newer titles that you should definitely be giving a whirl in a party with your closest friends — the Summer Sale has it all, but not for long.
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8 Chained Together ($4)
Buy your friends this game to rage at them
Chained Together is a multiplayer adventure game that became the talk of the town last year in 2024. You and your friends are, as the title suggests, chained together, and the objective is to escape hell together. As you keep progressing through the game's plethora of physical obstacles and diverse worlds, you'll have to execute miraculous feats of timing, synchronization, and cooperation to progress forward.
Of course, the biggest challenge, as I can personally testify, is to not crash out, making sure that your neighbors don't wake up, or your friends don't feel so bad that they quit playing. For less than $10, you could get two copies of the game, with one to gift to your friend. If there's more in the party, then the two of you could simply bully the third one into getting the game, so no biggie there, either.
Chained Together
Systems
Released June 19, 2024
ESRB t
Developer(s) Anegar Games
Publisher(s) Anegar Games
Engine Unreal Engine
Multiplayer Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op
7 Borderlands 3 ($3)
Before the next game comes along, this one will get you into the franchise for dirt cheap
With Borderlands 4 right around the corner, my excitement and expectations are both high. Now, Borderlands 3 might have stumbled significantly in the writing and world-building department, but it's still the entry with the most solid combat and gunplay in the franchise.
The multiplayer component of the game is what you'd be buying it for, because, let's face it — you've either played through the series, or you're not going to start at the third one. Either way, if you're looking for some solid gunplay that requires you to put your personality into your weapons by mixing and matching things, a visual aesthetic that will never age, and an enjoyable time, Borderlands 3 is a game you should absolutely be adding to your friends' libraries. It's only $3 per copy, so go crazy.
Borderlands 3
Released September 13, 2019
ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
Developer(s) Gearbox Software
Publisher(s) 2K Games
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
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6 The Outlast Trials ($16)
One of the best horror co-op games, hands down
If you're in a "talking about The Outlast Trials competition" and you're facing me, you might as well pack things up and go home. One of my favorite multiplayer titles of all time, The Outlast Trials marries the handicam-heavy, night-vision-dependent gameplay of the fantastic Outlast games with a multiplayer aspect that is impressively implemented.
In this game, you and your friends are going to be stuck in different locales with a stalker-type enemy chasing you, all while you have to run through a bevy of objectives, collaborating, managing your inventories together, and making sure you don't let the darkness get to you. Another entry in the fantastic co-op horror genre that I so love, The Outlast Trials is a $40 game that is now available for just $16, and is a title you definitely need to get two of and try out with a friend ASAP.
The Outlast Trials
Released May 18, 2023
ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due TO Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language
Developer(s) Red Barrels
Publisher(s) Red Barrels
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer
5 The Forest ($4)
It's a cozy adventure with your friends... until the monsters attack
Now, I would've gone ahead and mentioned Sons of the Forest, the sequel, but the first game, The Forest, for what it is today, is a stellar multiplayer experience you can get lost in with a friend. You can play the game co-op with a friend, of course, as you survive in a forest infested with cannibalistic creatures, all while foraging, hunting, and crafting to stay alive. Plus, we're talking two copies for less than the price of one copy of the sequel.
There's a story here, of course, to uncover, but even without it, the experience of being out in the wildlife with a friend while the two of you figure out how to survive is a wholesome and warm experience... provided you forget about the weird, crazy monsters trying to eat you.
The Forest
Released April 30, 2018
ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity
Developer(s) Endnight Games
Publisher(s) Endnight Games
Engine Unity
Multiplayer Online Co-Op
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4 Deep Rock Galactic ($10)
Go mining on alien planets through space
Deep Rock Galactic is what you get when you mix dwarves, mining, sci-fi horror, and four-player co-op into one perfect underground package. Deep Rock Galactic puts you and your friends in the role of gun-toting space miners, digging through alien-infested caves and hoarding loot.
The missions are punchy, the biomes are dynamic, and the voice lines? Chef's kiss. Heck, if you take a shot every time someone yells "rock and stone!", you just might wake up with an IV attached to your arm. A truly fun game that becomes massively more enjoyable with friends, Deep Rock Galactic is one game you must play if you haven't, and share the joy with your friends.
Deep Rock Galactic
Released May 13, 2020
ESRB T for Teen due to Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
Developer(s) Ghost Ship Games
Publisher(s) Coffee Stain Publishing
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer Online Co-Op
3 Riders Republic ($4)
Karting, skiing, racing, and flying — it's all better with friends
Four dollars. That's the price of admission to an exhilarating multiplayer adventure where you and your friends could be cycling hard on a mountain road, and flying down the side of the same mountain wearing a wingsuit the next. If all of those Red Bull ads were a game, it would be Riders Republic.
An extremely polished massively-multiplayer racing game for you and your friends to go karting while trash talking and nudging each other in-game, Riders Republic, for its current sale price of $4, is an absolute steal for the fun it guarantees. You could be biking, flying, skiing, or even falling down, but you'll do it all stylishly, and it will be glorious as your headset fills with the sound of your friends' laughter.
Riders Republic
Released October 28, 2021
ESRB T For Teen
Developer(s) Ubisoft Annecy
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Engine anvilnext
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer
2 Backrooms: Escape Together ($7)
Keep your cameras out and your energy drinks ready
Another fantastic horror co-op adventure I can never get enough of, Backrooms: Escape Together started off as a solo dev project, with the aim of bringing the Backrooms' lore to Unreal Engine 5. Backrooms: Escape Together is a well-polished title that works flawlessly in both single-player and multiplayer modes, and gives you and your friends nine different, intricately-crafted levels to explore.
For $14, you can jump right into the game with a friend, and from start to finish, I can personally assure you that there's just nothing quite like the first campaign.
Released October 18, 2022
Developer(s) Triiodide Studios
Publisher(s) Triiodide Studios
Engine Unreal Engine 5
Platform(s) PC
Developed on Unreal Engine 5, Backrooms: Escape Together is a co-op survival horror game where you and your friends must explore eerie, endless maze-like levels and work together to escape terrifying entities and madness.
1 Don't Starve Together ($5)
An incredible game that remains just as fun as it was a decade ago
Yes, the art style is creepy. Yes, everything's trying to kill you. And yes, the title is a warning. But Don't Starve Together also happens to be one of the most unforgettable co-op survival games ever made. The game throws you and a friend into a bizarre, gothic wilderness, and you must craft, forage, and fight to survive. Most importantly, however, you must not lose your mind (literally).
Don't Starve Together is the kind of game where each new day survived feels like a small miracle, and death never stops being hilarious. For $5 at the Summer Sale, it's about time you bought the game and added it to a friend's library, too.
Don't Starve Together
Released December 15, 2014
ESRB T For Teen Due To Fantasy Violence, Crude Humor
Developer(s) Klei Entertainment
Publisher(s) Klei Entertainment
Engine Lua
Time is running out to play these great titles with a friend for cheap
The Summer Sale is the best excuse to drag your friends into games they didn't know they needed.
There's no better feeling than waking up the morning after a great multiplayer session, texting the squad about last night and making jokes and references about the chaos, the laughter, and the last-minute clutch saves still fresh in your mind.
If you can have that kind of joy with just a few bucks and a gifted copy or two? It's a no-brainer. The Steam Summer Sale is the best excuse to drag your friends into games they didn't know they needed. So, buy two, or three, and keep the party going.
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