The Best PC Shooters

Best PC shooters at a glance

How these PC shooters were selected

The ranking considers:

• Weapon handling, feedback and combat clarity
• Map and encounter design
• Solo, cooperative and competitive modes
• Teamwork, tactics and player roles
• Progression without confusing it with core gunplay quality
• Replay value across missions, matches or raids
• Variety across first-person and third-person perspectives
• Listed PC memory and storage requirements

Each game is evaluated within its intended style. A strong extraction shooter should not be judged by the same criteria as a linear campaign or a cooperative PvE game.

1. Battlefield 6

Best overall multiplayer PC shooter

Battlefield 6 builds its identity around large combined-arms battles.

Infantry, tanks and aircraft share the same battlefield, so success requires awareness beyond the next nearby target.

Destructible environments can remove cover and change routes while a match is still in progress.

Squads create smaller units of cooperation inside the larger conflict. Spawning, reviving and coordinating equipment can make one squad more useful than several isolated players.

Different classes and loadouts support direct assault, support, engineering and reconnaissance roles.

It supports single-player and online PvP with full controller support. Minimum requirements include 16 GB RAM and 55 GB of storage.

Choose Battlefield 6 for scale, vehicles and matches where the battlefield itself changes under pressure.

2. HELLDIVERS 2

Best co-op shooter on PC

HELLDIVERS 2 sends squads into hostile environments to complete objectives and extract.

Players select weapons, armor and Stratagems before deployment. Stratagems provide support weapons, defensive systems, supply drops and powerful attacks.

Friendly fire makes positioning and communication essential. A badly placed attack can be as dangerous as the enemy.

Objectives encourage squads to move, defend locations and decide whether optional rewards justify additional risk.

The wider galactic conflict gives individual missions a shared context without turning the experience into a traditional story campaign.

The game is listed for online co-op and requires 8 GB RAM with 135 GB of storage.

Choose HELLDIVERS 2 for four-player PvE, coordinated equipment and unpredictable squad stories.

3. Counter-Strike

Best competitive tactical PC shooter

Counter-Strike reduces competitive shooting to movement, aim, economy and team decisions.

Rounds are short, but mistakes can remove a player until the next one begins.

Weapons have distinct recoil behavior, making controlled fire and practice important.

Teams must balance equipment purchases against future rounds instead of buying the strongest option every time.

Map knowledge shapes positioning, rotations and utility use.

It supports online PvP.

Choose Counter-Strike for direct competition, mechanical precision and a ruleset where individual execution must support team strategy.

4. Escape from Tarkov

Best extraction shooter on PC

Escape from Tarkov turns every raid into a decision about risk, equipment and survival.

Players bring gear into a dangerous area, gather supplies and attempt to reach an extraction point.

Failure can mean losing carried equipment, so avoiding an unnecessary fight may be more valuable than winning one.

Weapons, ammunition, armor and injuries contain substantial detail.

Dense maps reward knowledge of routes, sound and likely player movement.

It supports online co-op and online PvP. Minimum requirements include 16 GB RAM and 80 GB of storage.

Choose it for high-stakes raids and deep equipment management. Players seeking short, balanced competitive rounds should choose Counter-Strike instead.

5. Metro Exodus

Best single-player PC shooter

Metro Exodus follows a journey through post-apocalyptic environments connected by a strong narrative.

Its larger regions allow exploration while preserving focused story progression.

Weapons can be modified for different ranges and situations.

Ammunition and supplies remain valuable, encouraging deliberate combat rather than constant firing.

Stealth, time of day and environmental hazards affect how encounters develop.

Metro Exodus is single-player with full controller support. Minimum requirements include 8 GB RAM and 59 GB of storage.

Choose it for atmosphere, deliberate gunplay and a complete solo campaign rather than competitive multiplayer.

6. Far Cry 4

Best open-world PC shooter

Far Cry 4 places the player inside a mountainous open world affected by civil conflict.

Enemy outposts function as compact combat sandboxes that support stealth, direct assault and environmental improvisation.

Weapons, bows, vehicles and wildlife create several ways to disrupt an occupied location.

Movement tools and vehicles make exploration faster while opening different attack routes.

Character upgrades gradually expand combat and survival options.

It supports single-player, co-op and multiplayer. Minimum requirements include 4 GB RAM and 30 GB of storage.

Choose it for open-world freedom and encounters that permit several solutions rather than one fixed route.

7. Marathon

Best science-fiction extraction shooter alternative

Marathon uses a science-fiction colony as the setting for high-stakes multiplayer raids.

Players enter as Runners, search for valuable resources and attempt to extract before losing the carried rewards.

Other players and environmental threats create competing sources of danger.

Weapon roles and equipment choices shape how a team approaches each deployment.

Its brighter futuristic presentation distinguishes it visually from the harsher military identity of Escape from Tarkov.

It supports online PvP. Minimum requirements include 8 GB RAM.

Choose Marathon for science-fiction PvP extraction. Choose Escape from Tarkov for heavier simulation and equipment detail.

Which PC shooter should you play first?

Match the recommendation to the experience you want:

• Large multiplayer battles: Battlefield 6
• Cooperative PvE missions: HELLDIVERS 2
• Round-based tactical competition: Counter-Strike
• High-risk extraction raids: Escape from Tarkov
• An atmospheric solo campaign: Metro Exodus
• Open-world action and stealth: Far Cry 4
• Science-fiction extraction PvP: Marathon

Battlefield 6 is the strongest broad multiplayer recommendation. Metro Exodus is best for solo players, while HELLDIVERS 2 suits groups that want cooperation without fighting other players.

Best multiplayer shooters on PC

Battlefield 6 provides the largest combined-arms battles in this selection.

Counter-Strike offers the clearest competitive tactical structure, where economy and map control matter every round.

Escape from Tarkov creates greater consequences because equipment can be lost during a failed raid.

Marathon provides a science-fiction extraction alternative focused on online PvP.

HELLDIVERS 2 is multiplayer but cooperative, placing the squad against computer-controlled opposition rather than another team.

Best single-player shooters on PC

Metro Exodus is the strongest dedicated solo recommendation because its survival systems and shooting support a complete story.

Far Cry 4 is better for freedom, outposts and open-world experimentation.

Battlefield 6 includes single-player content, but its primary identity remains large-scale multiplayer warfare.

Counter-Strike and Marathon are online competitive games, while HELLDIVERS 2 is designed around online cooperation.

Tactical shooters versus action shooters

Tactical shooters reward information, positioning and planning as much as mechanical aim.

Counter-Strike uses round structure, economy and map control. Escape from Tarkov adds equipment risk, injuries and extraction.

Battlefield 6 combines tactical squad decisions with a more chaotic large-scale battlefield.

Far Cry 4 and Metro Exodus give players more control over pace because enemy encounters occur inside solo campaigns.

HELLDIVERS 2 is action-heavy, but friendly fire and limited Stratagem availability still make coordination important.

Best PC shooters for lower-spec computers

Far Cry 4 lists 4 GB RAM and 30 GB of storage, the lightest complete requirements among the games with figures available.

Metro Exodus and HELLDIVERS 2 each list 8 GB RAM. Metro Exodus requires 59 GB of storage, while HELLDIVERS 2 lists 135 GB.

Marathon lists 8 GB RAM.

Battlefield 6 and Escape from Tarkov each list 16 GB RAM, with storage requirements of 55 GB and 80 GB respectively.

Minimum requirements do not guarantee ideal performance, particularly in online matches. Compare the full current processor, graphics, operating-system and network requirements with the intended PC.

More shooter guides

Players seeking slower teamwork and coordinated roles can continue with the best tactical shooters.

For fast classic-style action, see the best boomer shooters. Readers seeking a similar military multiplayer structure can explore games like Call of Duty.

A separate guide covers first-person shooters for Switch.

Final recommendations

Battlefield 6 is the best overall choice for large multiplayer warfare. HELLDIVERS 2 leads for cooperative PvE, Counter-Strike for competitive tactics and Escape from Tarkov for extraction pressure.

Choose Metro Exodus for a focused single-player journey, Far Cry 4 for open-world flexibility or Marathon for science-fiction extraction PvP.

The right shooter depends on what should decide the encounter: raw aim, squad coordination, battlefield scale, survival planning or the discipline to leave with the objective instead of chasing one more fight.