Does the Steam Machine support split-screen co-op?

Yes — split-screen is a per-game feature, not a system one, and the Steam Machine handles it well at 1080p . SteamOS treats multiple controllers natively, so any game with built-in local split-screen (It Takes Two, Stardew Valley, Baldur's Gate 3) works on the couch. Just pair your pads in Settings → Controller first.

Will couch co-op games run worse than single-player?

Sometimes. Online co-op (Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic) costs almost nothing extra. True local split-screen does — it renders the scene twice, so expect a meaningful framerate drop (often 30–40%, estimated) in detailed 3D games. Lightweight twin-stick and top-down titles are unaffected. Starting at 1080p gives you the most headroom.

Do all these games work on SteamOS through Proton?

The genre is well-covered. Most major couch co-op titles are Steam Deck Verified or Playable, which is a strong signal they'll run on the Steam Machine. A few may need you to force a recent Proton version in Properties → Compatibility, but native controller support and broad Proton compatibility make this one of the smoothest categories on the platform. Check /games for per-title verdicts.

What's the single best couch co-op game to start with?

It Takes Two — it's the most polished two-player experience, runs light on the hardware, and its Friend's Pass means only one of you has to buy it. If you've got a full couch instead of just two players, Overcooked! 2 is the easiest crowd-pleaser to pull out for mixed-skill groups.

Best Couch Co-op Games on the Steam Machine

The Steam Machine is built to sit under a TV, so couch co-op is its natural habitat. The good news: most of the genre's best games are light-to-moderate on hardware, fully controller-native, and work on SteamOS through Proton with little fuss. The honest caveat: true split-screen renders two views at once, which roughly doubles the GPU and CPU load. On a Steam Machine (RX 7600 / RTX 4060-class GPU, 8 GB VRAM, Zen 4 6c/12t) that's usually fine at 1080p, but it's the one place where a game that runs flawlessly solo can dip in split-screen.

Here are the titles worth owning, grouped by how you'll actually play them. For per-game verdicts and settings, see /games, and check methodology for how we test.

Story co-op (two players, one couch)

These are the showpiece games for a living-room machine — designed around two people and a shared screen.

It Takes Two — The benchmark for couch co-op, and it ships with a Friend's Pass so only one of you has to buy it. Constant mechanic-swapping keeps both players engaged. Playability: light load; expect a steady, locked-feeling 1080p with headroom even in split-screen.
Split Fiction — The newer Hazelight game, built the same way: forced two-player, genre-hopping set pieces. More visually ambitious than It Takes Two. Playability: heavier than its predecessor; target 1080p high — drop to medium in the busiest sci-fi scenes if split-screen gets choppy.
A Way Out — Hazelight's prison-break thriller, permanently split-screen by design. Older and lighter than the above. Playability: runs comfortably at 1080p; the constant split-screen is baked in, not a performance penalty here.

Chaos co-op (great for a full couch)

The "everyone's yelling at the TV" category — pick-up-and-play, scalable to 2–4 players.

Overcooked! 2 — The definitive party-kitchen game. Trivial to run, instantly understood by non-gamers. Playability: featherweight; effectively a non-issue on this hardware even at 4-player local.
Moving Out — Physics-based furniture-hauling co-op in the same spirit, up to four locally. Playability: very light; 1080p with full headroom.
Lego games (Skywalker Saga, etc.) — Drop-in/drop-out local co-op, friendly for kids and mixed-skill groups. The Skywalker Saga is the heaviest of the bunch. Playability: most Lego titles are light; Skywalker Saga is the one to watch — 1080p high is comfortable, but its split-screen does ask more of the GPU.

Online co-op (couch + friends elsewhere)

Not split-screen, but core to a living-room console — sit on the couch with a controller and play with friends online.

Helldivers 2 — Four-player co-op shooter that's a near-perfect controller and TV game. The most demanding title on this list. Playability: honest target is 1080p high; lean on FSR if you want headroom during heavy bug/bot swarms. See /games for the full verdict.
Baldur's Gate 3 — Supports online and local split-screen co-op for a full RPG campaign. Turn-based combat suits couch play. Playability: runs well at 1080p high solo; local split-screen is the demanding mode — expect a noticeable hit in Act 3's dense areas, so consider online co-op on one screen each if you want max smoothness.
Deep Rock Galactic — Four dwarves, destructible caves, endlessly replayable. Scales down gracefully. Playability: light-to-moderate; comfortable 1080p high, very forgiving hardware-wise.

Cozy / long-haul co-op

For couples and roommates who want a game to live in for months.

Stardew Valley — Local split-screen farming for up to four. Runs on anything. Playability: featherweight; the only limit is screen real estate in 4-player split.
Terraria — Sprawling sandbox with local and online co-op, hundreds of hours deep. Playability: trivial to run at 1080p.

How to set up couch co-op on SteamOS

Pair your controllers first. Settings → Controller → add each pad over Bluetooth or USB before launching.
Enable Proton if a game isn't verified. Right-click the game → Properties → Compatibility → force a recent Proton version. Most co-op titles run without touching this.
Set the resolution to your TV's native, then cap the framerate. A locked 60 fps feels better in split-screen than an uneven 75–90.
For split-screen-heavy games, start at 1080p. Push to 1440p only after you've confirmed it holds in the busiest two-player scenes.
Use a wired pad for player one if you can. It removes any Bluetooth latency question from the equation.

Honest notes on split-screen cost

Split-screen is the one place to set expectations. Rendering two viewports means the Steam Machine is effectively drawing the scene twice, so a game that sits at a comfortable 1080p solo can lose 30–40% of its framerate in split-screen (estimated, varies by game). Twin-stick and top-down games (Overcooked, Stardew, Moving Out) barely notice it. The ones to watch are the 3D, detailed titles — Split Fiction, Baldur's Gate 3, Lego Skywalker Saga — where dropping one notch of settings or staying at 1080p keeps things smooth. None of this makes them unplayable; it just means split-screen is where you spend your performance budget.