One screen, split in two
Split-screen is having a quiet renaissance, and it's the best format for two people who want a single, shared story. The screen divides, you each control a character, and the whole game is built around the two of you working together. Several of these even keep the split-screen when you play online, so you get the same design whether you're side by side or apart.
Our top split-screen pick is It Takes Two- every mechanic is designed for two, it's split-screen the entire way, and the Friend's Pass lets a second player join free. Its follow-up, Split Fiction, adds crossplay. A Way Out is the earlier two-player prison-break, Portal 2 is the best-value split-screen puzzle game, and Borderlands 3 brings split-screen to a four-player looter.
One thing to check: most of these are two-player stories. If you have a bigger group in the room, the couch co-op page lists 4-player local picks. If your second player is remote, confirm the game supports online co-op (It Takes Two and Split Fiction do) and check the crossplay hub for platform mixing.
Split-screen by platform, and the online question
Which games are available to you depends heavily on the machine, so we keep a shortlist for each: split-screen games on PS5 is weighted towards two-player stories, split-screen games on Xbox is the longest list of the three thanks to four-player Minecraft, and split-screen games on PC explains why the format is rare there and how to set up a second controller.
And if your group is partly in the room and partly elsewhere, the more useful list is split-screen games you can also play online - the small set of games where two people on one couch can join an online session with friends in other houses.
Already played the ones above? The format has had a real revival, and new split-screen gameslists only what shipped in 2025 and 2026 - Halo's return to two-player split-screen included.
