Best RTS Games That Support 6-Player Co-Op, Ranked

RTS games have been resurfacing as of late, and the enthusiasm for the genre has been rekindled by great games like Manor Lords and Frostpunk which offer a complete real time strategy experience along with many cool and innovative mechanics. But the true sauce of the genre comes when multiplayer action is allowed, and there are few RTS that offer players the chance for 6-player cooperative modes.

This ranked list contains the best RTS games with cooperative modes for teams of 6 players, or for duo players that want to spice it up by fighting against teams of 6 players. From a classic Sci-Fi franchise that has seen better days, to the latest remaster of an old jewel that has come back to shake the grounds with its unusual mechanics.

5 Starcraft 2

Great For Sci-Fi Fans And Multiplayer Full Scale Wars

The Starcraft franchise has always been well regarded among fans of RTS games, and Starcraft 2 is one of the best games of the genre, which also offers the possibility for cooperative multiplayer matches. Be it 3v3v2 or 6v2, 2v2v2v2 or free for all, the game can be enjoyed to a maximum of 8 players at the same time. Cooperative play is available only in certain maps, and there are custom community maps that even allow 6v6 full-scale wars.

One of the most notorious things about Starcraft 2 is its complex unit system, which allows for some incredible battles. Picking up the Protoss, Terran, or Zerg greatly changes the gameplay experience, and players should learn how to cooperate between them, even if they are playing factions that are opposed against each other in the lore. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm for Starcraft 2 has decreased considerably in the past years, mainly due to the lack of interest from the audience in the genre, but its multiplayer still remains very active. Matches take no longer than 2 minutes to be set, and there are lots of great communities with custom maps that are welcoming for novice players.

4 Kingdoms Reborn

A Cozy Yet Challenging Experience That Mixes RTS And Survival

• Developer: Earthshine
• Platforms: PC (Steam)
• Released: November 3, 2020

Kingdoms Reborn is perhaps one of the best RTS games ever made, combining a mixture of city builder, grand strategy, and huge maps that allow cooperative or competitive actions between up to 12 players. Its mechanics are quite easy to understand but hard to master, so players need to invest a little more time than usual in adapting to this incredible game. On the bright side: it is tremendously fun to play with friends and is heavily inspired by old war strategy tabletop games.

Sadly, the online multiplayer is suffering from a lack of active players lately, mostly due to the rise in popularity of other RTS titles like Manor Lords — or the recently re-released Age Of Mythology: Retold. Games need to be pre-arranged with other friends before they are able to enjoy them, since matchmaking can get a little bit tricky. Luckily, there is an official Discord community to arrange matches, so if players are interested in joining the community, that’s the best shot they have to fully enjoy the cooperative in Kingdoms Reborn.

3 Age Of Empires 4

The Very Definition Of The Classic RTS With Modern Graphics And Cool Mechanics

Age of Empires 4 brought all the good elements from the earlier iterations of the franchise that every fan of the RTS genre loved, while adding some custom mechanics inherent to each civilization that complements them greatly. But, one of the best aspects of Age Of Empires 4 is the multiplayer mode — and the many community-created maps that allow up to 8 players to band together (or crush each other) with incredibly well-designed units and a rebalanced combat system.

Though the maximum map size (Huge) allows for a limited number of players (up to 8), the game does allow for teams of 6 to band against 2 experts or the AI in the highest difficulty modes and test their skills. Each civilization offers incredibly well-developed tech trees, and each has exclusive units and mechanics that really make them different from each other. Mongols, for example, can pack up every building and migrate from zone to zone, so it is really difficult to pinpoint their main base location. The Rus Empire gets gold while it hunts animals, and all its villagers receive a huge bonus to collecting food from them. So, it’s an ideal game to play with friends, combining tactics, base building, and army control to create the ultimate multiplayer RTS experience.

2 Total War: Warhammer 3

Huge, Enormous, Challenging, With Long Cooperative Campaigns

Total War: Warhammer 3 is a mixture of turn-based and real-time strategy combat that fans are absolutely loving. The game has one of the best (and biggest) cooperative campaign modes of the genre. Available for up to 8 players at the same time, the persistent world campaign offers up to 10 hours (or more) of cooperative strategy. Players can join huge battlefields with thousands of units and control them in real-time battles, which grants this game its RTS component. Then, there are several multiplayer modes — including a newly added Domination mode (a king of the hill style of game with a capture zone) — that significantly change the strategy players need to use during combat.

With 15 races and dozens of factions to pick from, the game offers a lot of room to try the best strategies and build the perfect army. What’s best: those players who own all three titles of the franchise can play all the multiplayer modes and maps from previous games in Total War: Warhammer 3. That is one of the greatest details this game has to offer, and fans of Warhammer will definitely appreciate it.

1 Age Of Mythology: Retold

Offers Players The Chance For 6v6 Battles With Mythological Beings

The glorious return of one of the best RTS in history has drawn the attention of fans all across the world: keeping the best of its old mechanics and adding improved graphics, maps, and a complete combat overhaul that is sure to satisfy the most demanding of fans. Since Mythology is the only Age Of Empires that officially supports maps for 12 players, 6v6 cooperative battles are a possibility, which leads to the question: What happens when 12 Titans battle each other at the same time?

Since Age of Mythology: Retold not only adds improvements and new units to each civilization, but also encompasses all the original game’s expansions in one neat remaster, players have a lot of content to enjoy. While also remaining true to the original experience, this game has definitely set the standard for future remasters. With any luck, fans of RTS games like Rise of Nations could see a new and improved version of the game in the near future, and that would be great for those who enjoy cooperative RTS action as well.