Multiplayer browser games: the best free ones to play live

A multiplayer browser game is the quickest way to play with other real people. There is no store, no account to make for most of them, and no download: open the page and you are in a match or a room with players from around the world, or with your own friends from a shared link.

These are our picks of the best free multiplayer browser games at the time of writing (October 2026). They are our choice, not a ranking, sorted by the kind of game you are in the mood for. Every fact about another game comes from the sources at the bottom. Our own game, AJ Cities, is in here too, described as plainly as the rest.

At a glance

If you want action

Krunker.io

A free-to-play first-person shooter you play without installing anything. It was started in 2018 by the Swiss developer Sidney de Vries and bought in May 2022 by FRVR, a publisher of web games, which said then that it had passed 200 million unique players. It is easy to jump in for ten minutes.

Shell Shockers

Blue Wizard Digital's multiplayer shooter, where everyone is an egg with a gun. It is free to play in the browser, built on the Babylon.js 3D engine, and has several modes, including free-for-all and team games. Silly to look at, serious to play.

Smash Karts

A 3D kart battle from Tall Team. Up to eight players drive around an arena, grab weapons and knock each other out in short rounds. You can join public games or set up a private game for your friends on any level. Free, with optional purchases of in-game currency.

If you want something simple

Slither.io

Steve Howse's snake game arrived in browsers and on iPhone in March 2016 and on Android two days later, and went huge almost overnight. You steer a snake, eat pellets and try to become the longest snake on the server, while everyone else tries to make you crash into them. It is free, and it still runs in the browser and on phones.

If you want to laugh with friends

Gartic Phone

The telephone game with drawings, from Onrizon Social Games, launched in December 2020. Write a sentence, draw the one you are given, describe the drawing you are given, and watch the meaning fall apart. It runs on its website on computers, tablets and phones, and friends join a private game from a shared link.

Codenames Online

The board game from Czech Games Edition, free online at codenames.game since 2019. Two teams, a grid of words and one-word clues. It is best on a voice call, because half the fun is the argument.

If you want something calm

Lichess

Free, open-source chess, run by a non-profit, with no ads and every feature free. Play someone online, a friend, or the computer, in the browser or in its phone apps. It is one of the few big multiplayer sites that asks for nothing at all.

If you want a world, not a match

AJ Cities

Every other game on this list is a round: someone wins, and it starts again. AJ Cities is a free 3D open world set in a walled estate on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos, and its live side, which the game calls party mode, is a place you stay in. Just so it is clear, that party happens inside the game: there is no real venue, date or ticket.

You sign in with your email (18+), make your own character and pick a world: always day, always night, or real Lagos time, where everyone in the world sees the same hour. Up to 60 players share each estate, and when one fills, another opens. Then you get past the police at the main gate, who let most guests in free if they ask, and do what people do: walk to Prizm for the nightly set, talk to other players, go to the beach past the bush, or stand by any radio, which plays the same song at the same moment for everyone. Tickets from ₦250 open more of the estate, but you never need one to play.

It runs in the browser on phones and computers. If you would rather play on your own first, AJ's story is single-player, with no sign-in. How party mode works has the details.

How to pick

• Short on time? Krunker.io, Smash Karts or Slither.io: a round takes minutes.
• Playing with people who do not play games? Gartic Phone or Codenames Online.
• Want to talk more than compete? AJ Cities.
• Want no ads and no shop at all? Lichess.

Good habits for multiplayer

Open games from their own sites rather than from copies elsewhere, never share a password or card details with another player, and remember that the people in public lobbies are real. Most of these games let you play only with friends from a private link if you would rather. For the longer version, read are browser games safe?; for group picks, see browser games to play with friends.

What are the best free multiplayer browser games?

Our picks are Krunker.io, Shell Shockers, Smash Karts, Slither.io, Gartic Phone, Codenames Online, Lichess and AJ Cities. All are free to start and run in a browser.

Is there an open-world multiplayer browser game?

Yes. AJ Cities is a 3D open world in the browser where up to 60 players share each live estate on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos.

Do I need an account to play multiplayer browser games?

For many, no. AJ Cities asks you to sign in (18+) for its live side, but its single-player story needs no account.

Can I play multiplayer browser games on a phone?

Many of them, yes. Slither.io, Gartic Phone, Lichess, Smash Karts and AJ Cities all work on phones.