Survival

Stay Alive - The Best Survival Games Across PC, Console and Mobile

Survival games tap into something primal - the drive to stay alive against a world that wants you dead. Whether that world is a frozen tundra, a hostile alien planet, a post-apocalyptic wasteland, or an ocean with no land in sight, the core loop is the same: gather, craft, build, and endure. The satisfaction comes not from winning but from making it one more night.

The genre has produced some of the biggest games of the last decade. Minecraft introduced survival mechanics to a generation of players through its iconic crafting system and procedurally generated worlds. Rust took the formula to its most brutal extreme - a multiplayer survival game where other players are often the greatest threat. Valheim blended survival with Norse mythology and co-op exploration. Palworld became a cultural phenomenon in early 2024, reaching tens of millions of players by combining creature-collecting with survival crafting.

Survival games also dominate the early access space on Steam more than any other genre - players invest early because the core loop is compelling enough on its own. Enshrouded, Once Human, and dozens of others have built substantial communities while still in development. Find the best survival games of 2026 across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile on GAMES.GG.