20 of the Greatest Multiplayer Video Games Ever Released

Before you, dearest Esquire reader, log off for the holidays, the weekend, or the night—hell, whenever you’re reading this—you should know that you’re valued by the members of the Esquire Gamer Zone. We can’t speak to how your friends and family feel about you. That’s your business. But we think so highly of you that, after compiling the final boss that was our 2021 Gaming Awards, we sat down and realized that we hadn’t given enough. You deserve more.

So, as a chaser to the awards—which you really should read, if only to see who won Best Himbo—as well as our ranking of the 35 best video games released in 2021, we put together our favorite multiplayer games of all time. This is the season when we spend more time with our loved ones, right? We figured this was an appropriate list, in that case. It is by no means comprehensive, but yeah, there’s a Mario Party on here. It’s just a small gift from us, to you. We’ll see you online.