Multiplayer was a different beast in the 1990s and 2000s than it is today. I remember showing up to a friend’s house, controller in hand, and sitting down together to play games. Whether it was GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the GameCube, or Halo 2 on Xbox. Before internet matchmaking, leaderboards, and microtransactions, video games weren’t just about winning. They were about being together. And sadly, this is something that most games lack today. This once all-important feature has seemingly disappeared from gaming.
Couch co-op brought an electric feeling that few games today embrace. There was something special about sitting beside a friend or family member, sharing a screen, and working together to achieve a common goal. Somewhere between the rise of online multiplayer and the push for always-connected experiences, we lost one of gaming’s purest joys. It’s not that modern games are worse; in many ways, they’re more sophisticated than ever. But the way we play them has changed so dramatically that an entire generation’s gaming culture has almost disappeared.
It’s mostly forgotten now, but there once was a time when couch co-op and split-screen multiplayer weren’t just the norm for gaming, but the lifeblood of it. It was a time before Wi-fi and party chat rose in popularity with online gaming. A time when the physical act of sharing space, swapping controllers, and working together was the heart of the industry. I have so many fond memories of games shared with my brother or my friends growing up, and while we still game, it feels different talking to them through a microphone rather than turning to look at them beside me.
I remember late nights playing Castle Crashers, each of us pounding on enemies together, only to drop everything and be at one another’s throats as we battled for the kiss of a princess. Or playing the legendary co-op campaigns of Halo 3 and Gears of War 2, handing the controller over when someone died or we completed a mission. Playing side by side created memories that online play simply can’t replicate.
Couch co-op made gaming personal. Some of my fondest memories of gaming stem from these experiences. The Injustice tournament we held in high school, where I won playing Deathstroke, showed how much fun it was to get your friends in the same room and sit down together. This nostalgia still has me longing for more couch co-op and multiplayer experiences. But the gaming landscape is different today. With fewer developers focusing on this feature and gamers being further apart, more games have embraced playing online in favor of split-screen.
So what happened? If couch co-op was so crucial to gaming, why did it become such an afterthought? The answer is both technological and cultural. As consoles evolved, so did player expectations. The jump to HD gaming, larger worlds, and online connectivity created new possibilities. But these came at a cost. Developers began designing games that were too big, too complex, and too graphically demanding to render twice on one screen. Maintaining split-screen modes became a logistical nightmare, and as broadband internet spread, online multiplayer became the new standard.
Then came monetization. Suddenly, multiplayer shifted from a mode to a service. Local play didn’t fit neatly into that business model. Why let two players share one copy of a game when you could sell it twice? Games also shifted toward battle passes, cosmetics, and long-tail engagement models. Even worse, many players stopped asking for couch co-op. As lives got busier and friend groups more spread out, online play became more convenient.
Whereas before you’d have to get everyone together, now you can simply jump online to play games like Arc Raiders, Battlefield 6, or Fortnite. It’s efficient and convenient, but it’s missing something. Modern gaming has never been more connected, yet it’s also never felt lonelier. We’re constantly online, but rarely together. Voice chat replaces laughter. Emojis replace looks. There’s a distance, even when playing with friends.
But not all hope is lost. Hazelight Studio has been the leading front on local multiplayer and couch co-op. Both It Takes Two and Split Fiction are incredible experiences. Reminders of the power of this long-forgotten gaming feature. Its games require cooperation, not through online matchmaking, though it is an option, but through genuine communication. Sitting beside your partner and enjoying the emotional magic of shared storytelling in the same room.
The upcoming remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved, also promises to restore local split-screen to its legendary campaign. After Halo Infinite’s disastrous launch, fans are hoping this remake will nail the old feelings of the series. Then there’s the indie scene. Games like Overcooked, Cuphead, and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime have carved out a niche where local multiplayer thrives again. These aren’t blockbuster shooters or open-world epics, but they carry the joy of multiplayer enhanced by local play.
And that’s the secret. Couch co-op doesn’t need to be massive. It doesn’t need photorealistic graphics or live service mechanics. It just needs people willing to share a screen. When that happens, something beautiful returns: the immediacy, the human connection, the physical energy of playing together. The best experiences happen sitting next to someone and playing together. Even when I have a new game I’m dying to play, I’ll drop everything to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with my wife on the couch, and I’m always looking for more co-op games to play in the same room.
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