Virtual reality (VR) gaming continues to soar in popularity, offering immersive worlds and experiences that transport players to imaginative realms. And one of the best parts of VR gaming is that many titles now offer robust multiplayer components.
Playing VR games with friends takes the experience to a whole new level. Whether you‘re wandering phantasmagorical worlds, battling armies of zombies, or teeing off on fantastical golf courses, adding a social element makes VR gaming more collaborative, strategic, and plain fun.
In this guide, we‘ll explore 12 of the top multiplayer VR games across genres to enjoy with friends in 2023. From heart-pumping shooters to rhythm games that get your whole body moving, these titles offer stellar social play.
Why Play Multiplayer VR Games?
Before jumping into the recommendations, let‘s look at some of the key benefits of multiplayer VR gaming:
More Fun & Social Connection – Solo VR gaming can be amazing, but adding friends takes it up a notch. Social interaction, camaraderie, and friendly competition make multiplayer VR an absolute blast.
Strategic Gameplay – Many multiplayer VR titles require coordination, communication, and unique roles to advance. The interdependence makes for rewarding teamwork.
Motivation & Accountability – Having other people participating provides motivation to keep playing. You can cheer each other on, hold each other accountable, and celebrate victories.
Expanded Content – Multiplayer unlocks additional game modes, character types, challenges, and missions not accessible playing solo.
Replay Value – No two multiplayer sessions are the same. The social variability exponentially increases replay potential.
With those advantages covered, let‘s explore some stellar titles to enjoy with friends across VR platforms.
1. Pavlov VR
Pavlov VR has earned widespread acclaim as one of the best multiplayer shooters in VR gaming. This FPS game thrusts you into intense combat across diverse maps spanning WWII battlegrounds to a zombie-infested city.
Key Features:
- 20+ detailed maps based on popular CS:GO and Call of Duty levels
- 50+ firearms with accurate ballistics and handling
- Casual and hardcore game modes like Search & Destroy and Gun Game
- Customizable player avatars and loadouts
- Ranked competitive leagues
- Workshops to build your own maps/modes
- Supports up to 32 players
Pavlov provides heart-thumping action and is easy to pick up even for VR newcomers. The large player base ensures full lobbies and seamless matchmaking. Communication is key for strategic teamplay. $24.99 on Steam.
2. Arizona Sunshine
For chilling zombie mayhem, Arizona Sunshine is one of VR gaming‘s most popular titles. Traverse eerie southwestern landscapes ridden with the undead in this action-packed cooperative shooter.
Key Features:
- Story-driven campaign with 1-2 player co-op
- Wave-based horde modes to fend off zombie attacks
- Arsenal of realistic firearms like pistols, shotguns, rifles
- Roomscale movement with freely roam environments
- Graphically stunning desert vistas and decaying ruins
- Challenging difficulty levels and modifiers
Arizona Sunshine strikes a nice balance of survival tactics and arcade shooter action. Lay out intricate defenses or go guns blazing side-by-side with a friend against swarming zombies.
3. Star Trek: Bridge Crew
For a marvelously immersive social simulation, Star Trek: Bridge Crew lets your crew pilot an iconic Starfleet starship. Beam aboard the Enterprise, Voyager, or Next Generation vessel with 1-4 players assuming critical bridge roles.
Key Features:
- Campaign storyline spanning the Star Trek universe
- Customizable Federation and Klingon crew avatars
- Engaging bridge stations – Captain, Helm, Tactical, Engineering
- Coordinated starship management procedures
- Stunning visuals render detailed ship interiors
- Cross-play between major VR platforms
- Expansion adds Borg enemies
If your squad loves Trek, few multiplayer experiences beat playing out bridge crew fantasies with friends. $24.99 on Steam and $9.99 on Quest.
4. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
For uproarious party play, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes challenges players to diffuse ticking time bomb puzzles. But here‘s the catch – only the manual holders can provide instructions to the VR bomb defuser who cannot see the manual themselves.
Key Features
- 150+ modules provide endless variety
- Manuals feature intricate graphics and diagrams
- Mountains of tricky modules to decipher
- Physical bomb with interactive mechanisms
- Supports 3+ crowds huddled around defuser
- Portable party gameplay, no VR rig required for manual readers
This quirky game fosters raucous play sessions full of confusion and laughter. Frantic communication makes for priceless multiplayer magic as time ticks away. $14.99 on all platforms.
5. Population: One
Battle royale blasts off to new heights in Population: One, a frenetic 24-player shooter set in a massive vertical map. Scavenge for weapons and gear up your customizable avatar to be the last player standing.
Key Features:
- Sprawling map with towering structures to scale
- Glide around environments with wrist-mounted wingsuits
- Daily challenges and Metagame progression
- 18+ weapons like pistols, shotguns, rifles, bows
- Squad play to coordinate with 2-3 teammates
- Cross-platform matches between PC, Quest 2, and Quest Pro
Population: One uniquely merges physicality, hero shooter mechanics, and strategic battle royale gameplay into one of VR’s stickiest multiplayer obsessions. Free on Meta Quest 2.
6. Walkabout Mini Golf
For breezy gamenights minus the bloodshed, Walkabout Mini Golf brings vibrant diorama-style courses alive. Up to 5 friends can putt across spinning windmills and looping rollercoasters on creatively-designed greens.
Key Features:
- 10+ wildly creative courses set from campsites to candy factories
- Customizable player avatars and golf gear
- Global and friend leaderboards for friendly competition
- Ball physics accurately simulate putts and spins
- Relaxing social environments full of secrets
- Local/online crossplay between Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR
With cheeky flourishes and zany hole designs, Walkabout Mini Golf is a slam dunk. Easy pick-up-and-play makes it a surefire crowd-pleaser for gamenight laughs.
7. Eleven Table Tennis VR
For fast-paced paddle action, Eleven Table Tennis VR offers hyper-realistic physics and competitive multiplayer. Step up to photorealistic tables and rally 120+ mph smashes with opponents across the globe.
Key Features:
- Meticulously accurate ball behavior
- 20+ table environments from gyms to beaches
- Solo practice drills to refine strokes
- Online leaderboards and tournaments
- Player stat tracking and progression
- Slow motion replay analysis
- Cross-buy and crossplay between Quest & PC
With outstanding realism conveying true spin, Eleven Table Tennis helps develop actual table tennis competency alongside friends. $19.99 on Meta Quest & Steam.
8. Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale
Embark on a zany and hectic journey to craft towering sandwiches in Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale. Gather ingredients from the fridge, slice veggies, slather spreads, and construct takeout orders alongside friends before hungry customers get angry!
Key Features:
- 30+ ingredients to slice, stack and combine
- 10 unique kitchens and 100+ dishes
- 1-4 player online/local co-op
- Customizable chef avatars and hats
- Wacky cartoon visuals and humor
- Leaderboards for fastest service times
- Accessible gameplay for ages 8+
Few VR escapades bring unhinged fun like hustling sandwich orders with your crew. $19.99 on all platforms.
9. After the Fall
Team up with 1-4 allies to annihilate menacing creatures that overran 1980’s Los Angeles in After the Fall. Scavenge and salvage weapons to launch counteroffensives across 32 chilling environments.
Key Features:
- Roguelite progression carries over between runs
- 35+ firearms and explosives
- Customizable player loadouts and looks
- Physically aim/reload weapons
- Roomscale movement thanks to Quest 2 native version
- Horde mode battles escalating enemies
- Cross-play between Quest 2 & PC VR
After the Fall thrills with heart-stopping undead shooter action. The productive devs continually expand content and support to keep the co-op chaos fresh. $39.99.
10. Rec Room
As a social hub with endless multiplayer amusements, Rec Room can easily become a VR obsession all its own. Whether competing in team minigames or chilling in lounges, there’s boundless fun to be had together.
Key Features:
- Ton of social games – paintball, dodgeball, quests and more
- Customizable dorm rooms to hang out and show off trophies
- Host public/private rooms or find active games
- Fun casual activities like disc golf, paddle ball, charades
- Cross-platform with PC VR, PSVR, and Quest
- Safe environment for all ages with moderation
As a perpetually updated platform brimming with community connection, Rec Room offers endless escapist social play for free on all systems.
11. CONTRACTOR$
Tactical shooter fans can enlist in CONTRACTOR$, a visually-stunning multiplayer game waging gritty firefights across expansive battlegrounds. This VR call of duty ushers lethal weaponry, fierce competition, and continual content expansions.
Key Features:
- 15+ detailead maps based on real-word locations
- 20+ firearms with gunstock aiming support
- Quick 1-minute rounds promoting constant action
- Competitive game modes like Team Deathmatch & Domination
- Physically reload weapons, throw grenades
- Daily/weekly challenges to earn currency
- Crossplay between PC VR, Quest 2 and PSVR
CONTRACTOR$ scratches that Modern Warfare itch, polished to an addictive shine across platforms. $19.99 on Steam & Quest.
12. Phasmophobia
No list covering social VR horrors would be complete without the viral multiplayer sensation Phasmophobia. Grab 1-3 teammates and slowly investigate bloodcurdling hauntings armed with ghost-hunting gadgets.
Key Features:
- Procedurally generated suburban household haunts
- Unique evidence identifying 50+ ghost types
- Tricky objectives requiring teamwork like photo capture
- Arsenal of tools – video cameras, motion sensors, ouija boards and more
- Bone-chilling atmosphere with impressive audio
- Adjustable difficulty tweaks danger and aggression
- Play entirely in desktop or VR mode
With unrelenting tension and screams around every corner, Phasmophobia‘s psychological terror sinks its hooks in deep. Just try not clinging to your friends out of primal fear.
Get Your Game On
And if you‘re craving even more stellar social VR adventures beyond these titles, there is no shortage of community-focused games continuing to push multiplayer boundaries.
So rally some friends, coordinate your headsets, and prepare to get immersed together. Because while solo VR offers radical escapism, doing so alongside allies magnifies enjoyment tenfold.
Here‘s to revolutionary virtual connections and memories made along the way!
