Multiplayer Browser Games: PC Classics to Play Online With Friends

Yes, you can play real PC multiplayer games in a browser with friends, and not only small web games. Counter-Strike 1.6, Half-Life Deathmatch, Quake III Arena, QuakeWorld, Urban Terror, Red Alert 2 and Warcraft III all have browser versions with live online matches, and two fan-run worlds recreate early RuneScape. Nothing to install: you open the page, pick a name and join a server.

Each entry says how the game runs, how you end up in the same match as your friends, and links to its page on this site, where Play opens the current host.

How playing with friends works in a browser

Most of these games do not have a "party" button. You play together the way people did in 2001: everyone opens the same game, then joins the same server or room.

• Server list games (Counter-Strike 1.6, Half-Life Deathmatch, Quake III on DOS Zone, Warcraft III). Agree on the map or room name shown in the list, then everyone picks it.
• One shared server (Quake III, QuakeWorld and Urban Terror on pieter.com). There is one public match per game, so opening the page at the same time is enough. Each of the three pages also shows a daily match at 16:00 New York time (q3.pieter.com).
• Online worlds (2004Scape, RuneScape Classic). Make characters on the same world and meet in game.

Use a desktop or laptop with a keyboard and mouse. These are PC games, and the shooters especially are rough on a touchscreen.

Shooters

Counter-Strike 1.6 is the original 1.6 running in the js-dos emulator on DOS Zone. Its page advertises matches of up to 32 players, Terrorists against Counter-Terrorists, on the classic maps (DOS Zone). It is a fan project, not a Valve release.

Half-Life: Deathmatch is the multiplayer side of Valve's 1998 Half-Life: crowbars, gauss guns and fast rounds on maps like crossfire. When we checked DOS Zone's multiplayer hub on 1 November 2026, Half-Life Deathmatch had the most players of any game on it, so you rarely wait for a match.

Quake III Arena runs on public servers at q3.pieter.com, powered by the Q3JS engine. The site calls itself a non-commercial, unofficial preservation project, not affiliated with id Software, and keeps a kill leaderboard by day, week and month (q3.pieter.com). A second version, Quake III Arena on DOS Zone, uses the DOS Zone server list instead.

QuakeWorld is the online version of the original 1996 Quake, running on the FTE QuakeWorld engine. Its page also offers a live spectator view of the current game (q1.pieter.com).

Urban Terror is FrozenSand's free tactical shooter, which started as a Quake III mod. The browser version plays maps such as Casa, Turnpike and Abbey. Its page warns that the first load downloads the game data, which is then cached, and recommends a desktop with Chrome (ut.pieter.com). The full game is a free download at urbanterror.info if you want to keep playing.

Strategy

Red Alert 2 runs on Chrono Divide, a fan project that rebuilt the 2000 Westwood game's engine for the browser and uses the original art. It opens on a choice between a skirmish against the computer and online games against other players, and you do not need the original game files (Chrono Divide).

Warcraft III is Blizzard's 2002 real-time strategy game, played online in a tab on DOS Zone, with melee maps and custom maps. On 1 November 2026 the multiplayer hub listed open Warcraft III rooms on maps such as Booty Bay and Market Square.

Online worlds

2004Scape recreates RuneScape as it was on 24 November 2004. It is a free, open-source, community-run project with a server written from scratch, and it says plainly that Jagex has not endorsed or authorized it. Membership costs nothing (2004Scape). It shares no accounts with Old School RuneScape, so never reuse a password from the official game.

RuneScape Classic is a fan revival of the original 2001 browser MMO, with the classic client running entirely in the page. Create a character and you share the world with other players.

A note on Minecraft Classic

Minecraft Classic is Mojang's official free browser version of the 2009 game, and it once let you invite up to nine other players with a link. Mojang removed multiplayer in an update on 9 June 2025, so today it is a single-player creative sandbox (Minecraft Wiki). It is still worth a visit, just not for a group.

FAQ

Can you play multiplayer games in a browser with friends?

Yes. Counter-Strike 1.6, Half-Life Deathmatch, Quake III Arena, QuakeWorld, Urban Terror, Red Alert 2 and Warcraft III all run online in a browser tab. You and your friends open the same game and join the same server or room.

Do I need to install anything or make an account?

No install for any game on this list. The shooters need no account. The online worlds, 2004Scape and RuneScape Classic, ask you to create a character for that project, which is not an official Jagex account.

Are these browser games free?

Yes, every game on this list opens without payment. DOS Zone is ad-free and funded by optional subscriptions and donations (DOS Zone).

Can I play them on a phone?

Mostly not. These are PC games built for a keyboard and mouse, and Urban Terror's page recommends a desktop. The exception is Quake III on pieter.com, whose game page on this site lists phone and gamepad support.

Can I still play Minecraft Classic with friends?

No. Mojang removed multiplayer from Minecraft Classic on 9 June 2025, so it is single-player now (Minecraft Wiki).

Are these official versions?

Minecraft Classic is official Mojang. The others are fan ports, reimplementations or preservation projects, not releases by Valve, id Software, EA, Blizzard or Jagex. The game pages on this site say which is which and when the link was last checked.