Friendslop

Friendslop is a subgenre of cooperative video game that focus on a low barrier of entry and social interaction. Created as a portmanteau of "friend" and "slop", these social games tend to be low-budget, low-cost indie games intended to attract entire friend groups to purchase copies to play together online. The friendslop genre is purported to have originated with the 2018 social deduction video game Among Us^{[citation needed]}, though their popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of remotely connecting with friends and loved ones during the quarantine. Even after the pandemic, these games remained highly popular as a means for people to spend time together remotely. The term "friendslop" originated from a 2024 post by an X user as a satiric way to describe slice of life anime; however, it's more common interpretation was coined in March 2025 by another X user who also described these games as "friendfarming."^[1][2] While intended as a joke, the post went viral and was taken seriously by many who mocked and derided these types of games.^[2] The popularity of the 2025 co-op survival video game Peak led to a drastic increase in use of the term amongst gaming media and players, shifting to a more descriptive usage, though it continued to be used as a derogatory term to accuse similar games of being cash-ins.^[3][4][5]

Core common elements of friendslop games include a low entry difficulty that allows people of any gaming skill to participate, and a focus on social interaction. Usually these games will feature a team working towards a common goal, such as hunting a ghost in Phasmophobia, or climbing a mountain in Peak.^[3][6] Games with extraction gameplay elements like Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. are also often labeled as friendslop games.^[7][8] 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.^[6][9] Many friendslop games also have a focus on physics interactions and utilize low-fidelity 3D graphics.^[6][10] These games are typically considered to be more affordable, usually costing US$20 or less.^[6]

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.^[4] However, some developers have embraced the label to describe their games. Paige Wilson, community lead at Aggro Crab, said that the team had loved the term from the moment it was first introduced, and praising the term for bringing new excitement to co-op games.^[6][9] The studio Panic Stations! have also advertised their games as "friendslop," though clarifying that people should only call it that if they wanted to.^[10]

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.^[3] 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.^[11]

Some games typically considered to be "friendslop" include:

• Among Us (2018)
• Phasmophobia (2020)
• Lethal Company (2023)
• Content Warning (2024)^[4]
• Lockdown Protocol (2024)^[6][12]
• Guilty as Sock! (2025)^[6]
• Mage Arena (2025)^[6]
• Peak (2025)
• R.E.P.O. (2025)
• RV There Yet? (2025)^[7]

• Walking simulator
• Social game