

Related: 6 Reasons Why Indie Games Are Better Than AAA Games 1. Why did the big names in gaming give up on couch co-op? The following reasons might have something to do with it. And while there's nothing wrong with indie couch co-op games, they often lack the polish or scale that we expect in AAA games. Most of the couch co-op games we see today, either on gaming consoles or PC, are usually by indie game developers. But these are just two examples out of a massive sea of AAA games without couch co-op modes.

There are occasional exceptions, like entries in the Diablo and Borderlands franchises. Related: Why Are AAA Games So Bad? Are Video Games Getting Worse? Ugh! It's rare for modern AAA developers to even think about couch co-op modes. These days, aside from a few select fighting games, the current state of couch co-op games is looking bleak. Remember when almost every game had a local two-player option? You could join in on a friend's adventure in Secrets of Mana, Pocky & Rocky, Streets of Rage, and much more.Īs time passed, you could still play Halo side-by-side with one of your friends, and fight against one another in Super Smash Bros.

Why Are Couch Co-Ops Disappearing?Ĭouch co-op games have been on a sad decline in recent years. Why is this? What happened to couch co-op games? Are they gone for good? Let's take a deeper look. Before consoles had any connectivity to the internet, games gave you the option of letting your friends join in by simply plugging in some extra controllers.īut now, it's hard to find couch co-op games worth playing. There's just something nice about playing a split-screen game with someone in the same room. Not everyone likes to game in separate houses, miles away from each other. It seems like video game publishers don't think people game with each other anymore.
