Polygon’s report this week that a modder finally added multiplayer to The Last of Us Part 2 lands in a familiar pattern: a single-player game finds a fanbase, and someone in that fanbase decides the game should be co-op. The Last of Us Factions PC fan rebuild that Softonic covered the same week is the louder version of the same story. The good news is that you don’t have to wait for a modder. A small ecosystem of desktop tools makes single-player PC games playable with friends, sometimes by sharing one screen and sometimes by tricking the game into thinking everyone is on the same LAN. We tested seven of the best apps for adding multiplayer to single-player PC games on Windows and Linux in 2026.
The benchmark was honest: can a normal user get two people playing a game together, in under 30 minutes, without root or piracy. The seven below passed in their own niches.
What to look for in a multiplayer-add-on app
The category mixes legitimate first-party tools (Steam’s own features), legal third-party tools (Parsec, Sunshine, Tailscale), and grey-zone tools (Goldberg, sometimes Hamachi). The criteria that matter:
- Legality. Tools that emulate Steam authentication are a grey area; only use them with games you own.
- Latency. Real-time games (action, shooters, fighting) need sub-50ms. Turn-based and slow games tolerate more.
- Setup friction. The best tool is the one your friend can actually install on a Friday night without three hours of Discord support.
- Game compatibility. Not every game’s networking code works under every tool. Read the compatibility lists.
- Anti-cheat. Tools that inject into a game can trigger BattlEye, EAC, or VAC. Use them only on single-player games or on titles with disabled anti-cheat for offline play.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam Remote Play Together | Out-of-the-box co-op | Win, Mac, Linux | Yes (Steam) | Free | One-click invite |
| Parsec | Low-latency remote desktop | Win, Mac, Linux | Yes | $9.99/mo Warp | Sub-30ms streaming |
| Nucleus Co-op | One-PC split-input | Windows | Yes | Free | Multiple controllers on one box |
| Sunshine + Moonlight | Self-hosted streaming | Win, Mac, Linux | Yes | Free | Open-source Parsec alternative |
| Goldberg Steam Emulator | Offline LAN play | Win, Linux | Yes | Free | Steam-API spoofing |
| Tailscale | Mesh VPN over internet | Win, Mac, Linux | Yes | $6/mo Personal | Zero-config “LAN” |
| Hamachi | Legacy VPN | Win, Mac, Linux | Yes (5 nodes) | $49/yr | Works with old games |
The apps
1. Steam Remote Play Together, the obvious first stop
Steam Remote Play Together is built into Steam, free, and probably the answer for most readers. The host runs the game and streams the screen plus controller input to up to four invited friends, who don’t need to own the game. It works with any local-coop or local-multiplayer game in Steam’s library, and Valve maintains a list. New Worlds was added in 2024, plus most of the Tales of series.
Where it falls short: the game must already support local couch coop. It doesn’t add multiplayer to single-player games; it shares an existing local-multiplayer mode over the internet.
Pricing:
- Free with Steam
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux. Mobile clients also exist.
Download: Steam Remote Play
Bottom line: start here for any game that already has couch co-op. The setup is two clicks, and the host pays for one Steam license.
2. Parsec, best low-latency desktop sharing
Parsec is the tool that made cloud-gaming-quality remote desktop accessible to anyone. The host runs a game, Parsec streams the desktop video and forwards controller input to guests, and on a 50ms connection it feels close to local. Where Steam Remote Play Together caps at four people and only shares one game’s coop mode, Parsec works with anything that runs on the host desktop, including non-Steam games.
Where it falls short: Unity-acquired the company in 2022 and the consumer free tier got narrower since. Some older single-player games behave oddly with the cursor capture.
Pricing:
- Free: 60fps streaming with watermark-free play between friends
- Warp: $9.99/mo for 4K, HDR, and longer max session lengths
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Download: parsec.app
Bottom line: the right pick when Steam Remote Play won’t work because the game isn’t on Steam or doesn’t have couch coop. Best latency in the category.
3. Nucleus Co-op, best for one PC and multiple controllers
Nucleus Co-op is the tool that runs multiple instances of the same game on one PC, with separate input devices per instance, on a split-screen window. It’s an open-source replacement for the older Universal Split Screen, and the maintained scripts cover dozens of games that don’t ship native split-screen, including Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Borderlands 3, and Gears 5.
Where it falls short: Windows only. Configuration is per-game and depends on community scripts; some games take serious tinkering. Heavy on CPU since the host runs the game multiple times.
Pricing:
- Free, GPLv3
Platforms: Windows.
Download: github.com/SplitScreen-Me/splitscreenme-nucleus
Bottom line: the right pick when you have one beefy PC, multiple controllers, and want couch coop in games that don’t ship with it.
4. Sunshine + Moonlight, best self-hosted alternative to Parsec
Sunshine is a self-hosted game-stream server, and Moonlight is the open-source client that connects to it (or to NVIDIA GameStream hosts). Together they’re the open-source equivalent of Parsec or GeForce Now: install Sunshine on the host PC, install Moonlight on any device, and stream desktop games over the internet or LAN. The 2025 releases added HDR streaming and AV1 encoder support.
Where it falls short: more setup than Parsec. The first connection needs port forwarding or a relay, and pairing the client to the server requires manual codes.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (host and client).
Download: github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine
Bottom line: the right pick when you want Parsec’s capabilities without the cloud-service dependency, and you don’t mind a one-time setup investment.
5. Goldberg Steam Emulator, best for offline LAN play
Goldberg Steam Emulator is a Steam-API replacement DLL that fools games into thinking they’re connected to Steam without actually connecting. The original use case was running Steam games offline; the side effect is that games with LAN multiplayer can be played between PCs on the same network (or the same VPN, see Tailscale below) without Steam servers, which matters when those servers are dead.
Where it falls short: legality is a grey area; use only on games you own. Anti-cheat games are off the table. Setup is per-game and requires copying the right DLL into the install folder.
Pricing:
- Free, LGPL
Platforms: Windows, Linux.
Download: Goldberg Steam Emulator on GitLab
Bottom line: the right pick for games whose Steam multiplayer servers shut down, when you and your friends own the game and want to keep playing it on a local network.
6. Tailscale, best mesh VPN for “LAN” play over internet
Tailscale turns the global internet into a virtual LAN that includes all your devices and your friends’. Once everyone runs the Tailscale client and the host shares its tailnet, any game that supports LAN multiplayer behaves as if everyone is on the same physical network. The setup is genuinely two clicks, and Tailscale uses WireGuard under the hood for low overhead.
Where it falls short: the free tier caps at 100 devices and 3 users, which is more than enough for a friend group. Game traffic still goes over the internet; latency depends on geography.
Pricing:
- Personal: free for up to 3 users, 100 devices
- Personal Plus: $6/mo for more devices and route advertisements
- Premium: $18/user/mo for SSO and audit logs
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, plus mobile.
Download: tailscale.com
Bottom line: the right pick for modern games that support LAN multiplayer but not internet matchmaking, or for older games whose matchmaking servers are dead. The cleanest setup of any VPN-style tool in 2026.
7. Hamachi, the legacy pick
Hamachi has been around since 2004 and is still the answer in some niches. LogMeIn’s VPN does the same job as Tailscale but with worse modern usability and a few legacy game-compatibility advantages. Older Source-engine games, some early-2000s strategy titles, and a handful of LAN-only games behave better under Hamachi than under Tailscale, probably because their networking code makes assumptions Hamachi’s older approach happens to satisfy.
Where it falls short: the consumer free tier is limited to 5 devices per network. The client is heavier than Tailscale’s, and the UX shows its age.
Pricing:
- Free: 5 devices per network
- Standard: $49/yr for 32 devices
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Download: vpn.net (LogMeIn Hamachi)
Bottom line: the right pick when Tailscale fails with a particular old game and you need a different LAN-emulation tool to try.
How to pick the right one
- If the game has Steam couch coop already: Steam Remote Play Together. Done.
- If you need to share a non-Steam game’s screen: Parsec.
- If you have one PC and multiple controllers: Nucleus Co-op.
- If you want Parsec’s capabilities without the cloud account: Sunshine + Moonlight.
- If the game’s official Steam multiplayer is dead and you own copies: Goldberg + Tailscale.
- If the game supports LAN multiplayer and you want it to “just work” online: Tailscale.
- If Tailscale doesn’t work with a particular old game: try Hamachi.
- If you tried the modder approach (like the Last of Us 2 multiplayer mod) and got tired of patching: any of the streaming tools (Steam Remote Play, Parsec, Sunshine) let one person play and others spectate or take turns.
FAQ
Is it legal to add multiplayer to single-player games? Streaming your own desktop with Steam Remote Play, Parsec, or Sunshine is straightforwardly legal. Tools that emulate Steam authentication (Goldberg) are a grey area; use them only with games you own and not for games with active anti-cheat.
What is the best free way to play a single-player game with friends? Steam Remote Play Together for any game with built-in couch coop. Parsec free tier for anything else. Both are zero-cost and require only the host to own the game.
Will adding multiplayer get me VAC-banned? Possibly, on competitive games with anti-cheat. Use these tools on single-player games or on games where anti-cheat is disabled in offline modes. Streaming-only tools (Parsec, Sunshine, Steam Remote Play) don’t inject into game memory and are safe.
Does Parsec still have a free tier? Yes. The free tier streams at 60fps between friends without watermarks. The Warp subscription unlocks 4K, HDR, and longer session limits.
Can I use Tailscale on Steam Deck? Yes. Tailscale runs on the Deck’s desktop mode, and you can route specific games through it without exposing the whole device.
What’s the difference between Sunshine and Moonlight? Sunshine is the server (runs on the gaming PC). Moonlight is the client (runs on the device watching the stream). You need both.
