10 Best Multiplayer Space Games for 2024
Space: the coolest frontier. These are the voyages of a major nerd and… I’m going to stop that now. You’re welcome. As you might have guessed, I’m a huge fan of science fiction and the vastness of space has a vice-like grip on my psyche.
If you feel the same way, and want to explore that vastness with friends, then this is the article for you.
I’ve collected a list of the best space games that you can play with others this year. Mind you, there are plenty of “space-themed” games set on other planets and so on, but I went hunting for the games where much of the action happens in space, and preferably games where you can fly spaceships.
Some of these are new, some are a little older. some are not technically out yet but they either have demos, or they’re in early access. All of them are either already amazing, or incredibly promising.
Deep space is dangerous enough, so don’t go exploring and dogfighting among the asteroids without securing your internet connection. PIA VPN can protect you against prying eyes, ISP throttling, network blocks, and DDoS attacks. It can even, in the right circumstances, help lower your ping.
Table of Contents
The Best Multiplayer Space Games to Play Right NowWhy PIA Is the Best VPN for Gaming
FAQ
The Best Multiplayer Space Games to Play Right Now
1. No Man’s Sky
One of the most disastrous game launches in recent history has become the incredible success story of a game studio that messed up, but didn’t give up. Since launching in 2016, No Man’s Sky has become what is probably the best space exploration game currently available, with literal billions of randomly generated planets to explore.
Admittedly, the procedural generation that creates the planets, animals, plants, spaceships, and so much more is a double-edged sword. It does tend to leave the impression of a universe that is ocean-wide, but puddle-deep.
But that’s where all of the other systems come in. You can go on missions with friends, take on timed expeditions for rewards that will be available in your main save, create elaborate bases, customize the capital ship of your dreams, recruit a fighter squadron, explore derelict freighters and so much more. There’s hundreds of hours of stuff to do, and I can attest to that personally.
Platforms: PC, PS4+, Xbox One+, Nintendo Switch
2. Eve Online
Eve Online is a strange beast. Yes, you can buy ships, fly them around, and have fun… but you don’t really fly the ships like you’d expect. You click, and the ship goes places and does things. That’s because Eve Online is an MMO, with classic MMO controls, and a world that’s absolutely not what you’d expect.
You see, the “action” is just one small part of the game. You can mine, hunt pirates, engage in PVP, do cargo missions, run passengers from place to place, and start your own company. Companies are like guilds, and that’s where the “meta game” happens. You can invite other people into your company, run it like a business, and spend more time staring at numbers than actually flying ships. Fans commonly call it “spreadsheets in space” for a reason.
Players also sometimes engage in corporate espionage, backstabbing, and daring rescues of their friends. But when large, multi-company battles do happen, they can last for up to 14 hours. Really, some of the most incredible stories of online gaming have happened in the Eve universe.
Platforms: PC
3. Void Crew
Have you ever looked at Star Citizen, seen the way multiple players can crew the larger ships together, and thought, “Wow, I wish Star Citizen was a properly functional game?” Look no further than Void Crew.
While it’s definitely a “smaller” experience, Void Crew is all about that exact concept. You can fly alone if you want, but it’s better to have friends join your game. Together you can fly, operate weapons and power systems, repair the ship mid-fight, manufacture munitions, and even go on EVA excursions to the wrecks of other ships.
You can even change out ship systems on the fly to adapt to ever more epic and dangerous space battles. Grab some friends and go explore!
Platforms: PC
4. Underspace
If you’ll forgive me for a moment of self-indulgence, this is actually the game I’m most excited about, and the reason I pitched this article. Underspace is an arcade-style space combat sim with both single player and co-op modes, a full story campaign, fantastic-feeling flight, and Lovecraftian horrors to battle in space.
It’s due to release in April of 2024, and I’ve already tested the demo for myself. While the fact that most of the voice acting seems to actually be text-to-speech initially gave me pause, I was already quite excited for this game after an hour. And then…
Okay, Skyrim and Fallout modders will know what I’m talking about. This game is being made by trainwiz. You know, trainwiz, the guy who turned Skyrim’s dragons into Thomas the Tank Engine, and made a ton of other great mods for Skyrim and Fallout 4. That guy has his own studio now, and the game is already looking and feeling fantastic for its indie budget.
Platforms: PC
5. Elite: Dangerous
Elite: Dangerous is, despite recent community sentiment, still one of the better space sims currently available. Fight, transport, mine, scavenge, upgrade your ships, buy a fleet of different ships, or fly off into the unknown and try to be the first to leave your mark on some distant planet or moon. I’m personally partial to that last option, and you can do it all with friends.
While I did eventually stop playing, I got a good 200 hours of enjoyment out of the game myself, and others have poured thousands of hours into the game with few regrets. Honestly, Elite Dangerous has a difficult learning curve for beginners, but every space game enthusiast really should play it for a few weeks. The experience is worth it.
Platforms: PC, Xbox One+, PS4+
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6. Drift
Have you ever looked at Raft and wished you could play it in space? That’s Drift. For those who don’t know what that means, let me explain: Drift is a survival-crafting game set in space, with a twist. You start on a little floating platform in the void. It’s your job to find the resources you need to survive, but also to expand your little space-raft into a comfortable base.
You can then fly that base around the Asteroid field to look for more resources, explore hidden locations for extra special loot, and discover the secrets of this particular universe. The game is still in Early Access at present, but is receiving great reviews and a constant stream of new features.
Platforms: PC
7. Life Not Supported
Life Not Supported is a lot like Drift, but with a mystery twist. You start off in orbit over a potential new home world, but your ship has seriously malfunctioned, and you’re tethered to what’s left of it. You and your friends will need to work fast to create a livable home while you solve the mystery of what went wrong.
This game is intended to be harsh and unforgiving, though. If you’re looking for a more chill experience, scroll back up and look at Drift again. But if you welcome the challenge, Life Not Supported has that in spades.
Platforms: PC
8. Homeworld 3
Homeworld 3 isn’t actually out yet, being due to release in May 2024. However, all signs point to Homeworld 3 continuing on in the Homeworld tradition of being the most fun you can have in a turn-based 4X game. Build your fleets, command them in massive battles. Battle with friends. May isn’t that far away, really.
Platforms: PC
9. PULSAR: Lost Colony
PULSAR: Lost Colony is a game not unlike Void Crew, truth be told. You have to team up to operate a space ship, keep it from falling apart, and defend yourselves from all kinds of different threats while coordinating your efforts. As a bonus, if you don’t have quite enough people to crew the ship, there are customizable AI crew bots to help you out.
Platforms: PC
10. Space Station 13
Space Station 13 is a 2D game where you and other players must work fast to maintain a space station and generally keep it safe and habitable. It won’t be easy, as pretty much anything can happen, from meteor showers, to encounters with shape-shifting aliens… and don’t forget to watch out for the angry space wizards.
Oh, and you can have impostors on the crew, like in Among Us, go exploring nearby planets and alien ruins, and… okay, there’s a lot. Best of all, Space Station 13 is free, community-developed, and anyone who wants can actually set up their own private server.
Platforms: PC
Honorable Mentions: Warframe, Space Engineers, and Trailmakers
In the most technical sense, most of Warframe happens in space. But space is more of “the setting” than “the point”. You’ll mostly be parkouring down corridors and across open plains, wreaking a terrible vengeance on… everyone. It’s an amazing game, though, so it deserves to be somewhere in this article.
Space Engineers is put down here simply because there have been so many good games of this variety coming out lately. Space Engineers is fantastic, but I wanted to showcase some other games in the same category.
Trailmakers is a game about building cool custom vehicles with your friends to conquer your environment and overcome obstacles. However, it has only recently joined the ranks of “space games” with the
Rest in Peace: Boundary and Star Wars: Squadrons
These games still technically exist and can be played. Sort of. However, Boundary (basically COD in space) suffers from a non-existent player count, and Star Wars: Squadrons suffers from almost non-existent support. For a brief moment, though, both of these games were amazing.
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FAQ
That depends entirely on what you want out of the game. General exploration, base building, and arcadey fun? No Man’s Sky is probably your best bet. A more realistic sim? That’s still Elite: Dangerous. I’m very excited to see what Underspace does though.
Free space games… that’s a tough one to answer. Eve Online is free to play, and does provide a lot of value even if you never pay a cent. However, if you’re looking for something more casual, Space Station 13 is a fantastic option.
Again, it sort of depends on what you want. For most people, it will still be a toss-up between No Man’s Sky and Elite: Dangerous. Star Citizen, even in its alpha state, is actually somewhat popular, but it’s very difficult to run at present.
Okay, for a simulation experience, Elite: Dangerous is still the most complete product at present. That said, Kerbal Space Program is technically more accurate, if you don’t mind going for a single player option. Flight of Nova is also a challenging, realistic space flight sim.
And once again, No Man’s Sky and Elite: Dangerous come the closest to fitting this description. They both feature massive universes, though No Man’s Sky is considerably bigger, as it actually technically has multiple procedurally generated universes to explore.
Well… NASA did actually just launch The Lost Universe, but it’s not a video game. It’s a tabletop RPG like Dungeons & Dragons. The closest thing you’ll get to a NASA game is Kerbal Space Program (the first one). The physics in that game are so accurate, they’re sometimes used in real research.
There are plenty. But if you’re specifically interested in games where you crew a spaceship together, have a look at Void Crew, PULSAR: Lost Colony, or Star Trek: Bridge Crew.
Dead Space 2 has a multiplayer mode of sorts, and Dead Space 3 does have co-op play. But, truth be told, the Dead Space games were absolutely intended to be lonely, isolating experiences. The multiplayers modes were sort of tacked on.
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