Early this year, an X (Twitter) user using the handle BLOODY MARY fired off a post containing a phrase that sent odd shockwaves in video games culture. Referencing the popular multiplayer game Lethal Company, they said that it belongs to a genre which they derisively christened "friendslop." It was a post made in jest, but as 2025 draws to an end, “friendslop” seems to have solidified as one of the genres of our moment. Far from a joke, the rise of these small-scale multiplayer games shows that if there’s one thing that players are really craving, it’s not competition but communication.What is “friendslop” and why does it matter? The term itself has drawn a degree of dispute and conversation this year but at the most broad level it represents a genre of low-stakes multiplayer games focused on achieving a common goal, coordinating usually through voice chat in game or through a program like Discord. These games are often unserious and definitely not competitive. Part of the joy, as much as getting to play with your friends, is seeing them bungle a run or simply goof off.2025 has seen tons of titles that are distinctively friendslop. Peak, for example, takes the role of cartoon scouts who attempt to climb a massive mountain, aiding each other in the climb, keeping each other company when the weather turns, and trying not to pull the group down with you. R.E.P.O., another tentpole of the moment, sends players roleplaying as fragile cartoon robots in an attempt to loot a variety of haunted houses and other spooky locales for their valuables. Add to this Chained Together, Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies, and Webfishing, not to mention the $70-plus billion valuation of Roblox, which is, without question, friendslop central for less dedicated gamers.Earlier this year, R.E.P.O shot the charts to become the second best-selling game on Steam. Only four months after release, R.E.P.O had sold over 14 million copiesOf course, the granddaddy of friendslop, Among Us, came out 7 years ago. At the time, it was an oddity, mostly because it shared culture space with more traditionally violent and competitive games like 2017’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and later Fortnite Battle Royale. Most social games then relied on communication that was reactionary and tactical, the sessions structured and goal-oriented.Today, the slop has crept in — bringing in a rash of games that on their face are weird, and seemingly aimless. Even Fortnite, with its town square and concert venues has changed into a space that is gloriously spontaneous, a little chaotic, and just maybe, the future of gaming.The Creep of SlopOn face value, the purpose of a game like Fortnite is to battle other players and be the last person standing. For Grand Theft Auto Online, the goal is to cause chaos and flaunt your virtual wealth with a cavalcade of expensive cars and yachts. Needless to say, this is no longer how people play these games. Fortnite, and, to some extent, GTA is not a “thing you do” anymore and has transformed into a “place you go.”In 2018, only one year after the release of Fortnite Battle Royale, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins became the first Twitch streamer to surpass 3 million followers. This popularity was achieved largely thanks to his superior mechanical play and collaborations with stars like Drake. Fans flocked to watch him nail headshots and rub shoulders with celebrities. Contrast that career with the Fortnite streamer making headlines in 2025, ConnorEatsPants, who has amassed his rising tide of fans through his “Fortnite Friday” talk show. Attracting guests like California governor Gavin Newsom, disgraced congressional representative George Santos, and a man claiming to be “Adrian Dittmann” thought by many viewers to be Elon Musk himself making an appearance. Conner has transformed Fortnite into a virtual studio for what’s essentially a talk show where players keep abreast of politics.Similar projects have emerged in Grand Theft Auto Online. At launch in 2013, the experience was mostly built around causing the most havoc as possible but as the decade faded, it became a haven for role players who would act out scenarios in the game world. This shift in perception, where Grand Theft Auto Online adjusted from playhouse to a true digital world, hit a peak with Grand Theft Hamlet, an award-winning documentary about players’ attempts to produce a digital performance of the Bard’s masterpiece within the game itself. Much in the way Fortnite is transformed by ConnorEatsPants into a late-night television studio, these players turned Grand Theft Auto Online into a theater space with scenes taking place around the massive in-game map. “All the world’s a stage” if you have enough players on the server.This shift in perception, where Grand Theft Auto Online adjusted from playhouse to a true digital world, hit a peak with Grand Theft Hamlet, an award-winning documentary about players’ attempts to produce a digital performance of the Bard’s masterpiece within the game itself. | Grand Theft HamletIt’s particularly telling that the project in Grand Theft Hamlet arose out of a desire to find purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many people were reporting increased feelings of loneliness and a shrinking ecosystem of friends, it was the global lockdown that appears to have accelerated the shift in how popular culture imagines video games. We were forced online and needed to rethink things.Grade A SlopFriendslop isn’t taking over entirely. There’s still a massive appetite for AAA games; titles like Battlefield 6 and Sony’s latest prestige tentpole Ghost of Yōtei, which sold over 3 million units this month, are topping the charts on Playstation. Call of Duty Black Ops 6 was the top-selling game of 2024.But this comes alongside critical questions about the lasting appeal of the modern open world games and a sense of unease around the AAA industry as games take longer and longer to make, facing continued and costly delays. Meanwhile, smaller teams can produce collaborative hangout games and see quick success. Games like RV There Yet? and Peak can live within the Steam bestsellers list alongside Battlefield or the popular new extraction shooter ARC Raiders. People want to be connected in more meaningful ways and this has opened a path for smaller games to be genuinely competitive with AAA titles.“As friendslop shows us, games can offer a real path to salvation from divisive and isolating times.”But economics are only a small part of the rise of friendslop. Sociology can help illuminate the other pieces of the puzzle. People are deeply isolated right now. If they’re not lonely, they’re probably at least anxious. We live in a period of time often characterized as an “epidemic of loneliness.” Over the last decade, daily time spent with friends is down across age groups, they self-report having fewer close friends, and depression rates have increased. Understanding the root of this problem can be difficult, although there are some, such as psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who point the finger chiefly at a rise in smartphone use. In his book The Anxious Generation, Haidt notes that after the introduction of the iPhone 4 (the first iPhone with a front-facing camera) and the emergence of social media networks, mental health took a turn for the worse. Studying Gen Z, he notes a rise in self-harm among girls, a rise in teens who sleep less than seven hours a night, and anxiety everywhere. We’re more connected than ever yet we are falling apart at the seams.Peak takes the role of cartoon scouts who attempt to climb a massive mountain, aiding each other in the climb, keeping each other company when the weather turns, and trying not to pull the group down with you. | PeakGaming plays a complicated role here. Yes, there are loads of habit-forming brainrot games that suck up our attention spans and can do real harm to our lives (you know who you are). But games are also increasingly essential spaces for socialization and connection. As friendslop shows us, games can offer a real path to salvation from divisive and isolating times.As we move into the 2020s, there’s been an ongoing reimagining of multiplayer games which has moved them away from death matches and battle royales into a range of activities from RV road trips to interstellar exploration and ghost hunting.The metaphors within these games are a bit on the nose: We’re climbing mountains together, stumbling, but tossing the rope down to help the next person up. We’re scraping together a living for strange companies, diving into secret places and only barely escaping monsters, but doing whatever we can to make sure everyone makes it back home. We’re getting our friends together to take a road trip in a beaten Winnebago, sharing laughs and chugging a few brewskis. Not like we have the time or money to do this in real life! Not in this economy.The Future Is Small, But MightyA popular meme in the gaming community says “I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding.” The last few years have put that maxim to the test as AAA games struggle to break out of their old models of production. Friendslop started as a tongue-in-cheek joke but the fact that these games have not simply been a flash in the pan proves that they’re grabbing on to a very real desire in players. We want smaller games and we want new ways to play. We want these games made by small teams who engage with their players and are excited to offer them pathways to new experiences. “This is the year where friendslop asserted their firm place on the cultural heap.”The numbers don’t lie. Earlier this year, R.E.P.O. shot the charts to become the second bestselling game on Steam. It was only outclassed by Counter-Strike 2, whose in-game monetizations have made it the platform's powerhouse. Only four months after release, R.E.P.O. had sold over 14 million copies. Its genre precursor Lethal Company, released in late 2023, had reached sales of 10 million copies by the start of 2024.We are lonely but we’re not alone. The real world might not offer many pathways to victory, and might often not offer us ways to gather together and succeed. And while games are not a substitute for the real world, the games give us spaces to recharge and room to achieve new kinds of success. Far from “slop,” the indie games stand apart from the pack. They reach out to grab at very real desires and this is the year where friendslop asserted their firm place on the cultural heap.