See also
Look up friendslop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Friendslop is a video game genre consisting of low-budget, low-stakes and often humorous co-op video games sold at bargain prices that one's entire friend group can afford to purchase and play right away. The friendslop genre is purported to have originated with the 2017 social deduction video game Among Us, however, co-op video games skyrocketed in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the sole means of connecting with quarantining friends. Even after the pandemic, they remained highly popular as an impromptu way to hang out. The term "friendslop" was coined by an X user in March 2025, who accused the games of being solely intended for "friendfarming". While it was intended as a joke, the post went viral and was taken seriously by many, who mocked and derided it. The immense popularity of the 2025 co-op survival video game Peak caused it to drastically increase in use in the gaming media and amongst fans, shifting to a more descriptive usage, though it continued to be used as a derogatory term to accuse the games in the genre of being cash-ins. [1] [2] [3]
Common elements of friendslop games include a low level of difficulty that allows people of any gaming skill to participate, and low-fidelity 3D graphics. The games often contain humorous elements and feature a team working towards a common goal, such as hunting a ghost in Phasmophobia , or climbing a mountain in Peak. [1] Proximity chat is common, giving a level of realism to the interactions between players, and allowing their character models' mouths to lip sync with their voices. [4]
Jay Costello of Aftermath claimed that friendslop was not a real genre, saying that the term had never been used genuinely and that people were only angry at the supposed people who used it, and stating that using it would mean hating "whimsy and joy" as well as one's friends. [2] However, Aggro Crab, developers of Peak, have embraced the "friendslop" label to describe their games. Paige Wilson, Aggro Crab's community lead, said that the team had loved the term from the moment it was first introduced, and praising the genre as bringing new excitement to co-op games. [4] Panic Stations!, a different studio, also advertised their game as "friendslop", though clarifying that people should only call it that if they wanted to. [5]
Harper Jay MacIntyre of Inverse described friendslop as a response to the loneliness epidemic, giving players an essential space for socialization and communication despite their isolation, and creating "a real path to salvation from divisive and isolating times". He also stated that they showed a real desire from players to play something smaller and more inventive than AAA games, made by teams that engaged with fans. [1] Ash Parrish of The Verge noted that the Nintendo Switch 2's GameChat feature offered significant potential for friendslop games to come to the platform. [6]
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