Best Free Survival Games for PC and Browser in 2023!

8BitMMO
Listen up all of you 8bit lovers out there! As the name would suggest, 8BitMMO is a free to play retrostyle 2D massively multiplayer game!

Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop
Taking its cues from its predecessor, Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop is a free-to-play action shooter with a top-down view and tons of extra-terrestrial baddies to exterminate. Reactive Drop includes an extensive campaign mode, PvP, and a vast array of deadly weapons to mince and mangle with.

Blockade 3D
Blockade 3D is a free to play multiplayer First Person Shooter (FPS) in an editable procedural world similar to Minecraft. In this cubic sandbox you can build and destroy things with 4 teams at the same time and up to 32 players on one map.

Bloodhunt
Stalk the night and use the powers of vampirism to eliminate your foes in Bloodhunt (Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt), a free-to-play battle royale from Sharkmob.

Brawlhalla
Brawlhalla is a fast-paced, frenetic smash-em-up like no other! OK, it's a little like that one “Smash” game, with plenty of interesting characters, weapons, environments, and many, many ways to die, horribly and comedically.

Chimeraland
Chimeraland is a free-to-play sandbox MMO that has so many character customization options that some of you may be in the creator for hours… no joke

Codename CURE
The undead prowl the maps in search of flesh in Codename CURE, a free to play MMOFPS with objective based missions set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. Taking a leaf from Team Fortress 2’s book, Codename CURE gives players access to five different classes to play as, each with their own strengths and weakness against the zombie hordes.

Creativerse
In Creativerse, a free-to-play building game from Playful Corporation, you can explore, mine, craft, and build to your heart's content in a lush and vibrant 3-D world. Many elements will be familiar to players of similar games, but Creativerse streamlines much of the gameplay, making it easy to jump right in and start building the structure of your dreams!

CRSED: F.O.A.D.
The former Cuisine Royale has a new name, but the free-to-play battle royale action is just as crazy as before! CRSED: F.O.A.D.

Darwin Project
Experience a fresh perspective on the battle royale experience with Darwin Project, a free-to-play game that takes the "game show" concept to a whole new level. As a contestant, you'll need to craft and kill your way to the top, as usual -- but the Show Director can make your life easier, or more difficult, and spectators can also weigh in, influencing the Director to aid or hinder players of their choosing.

Dead Cide Club
Join a Cartel and blast your way to success in a free-to-play side-scrolling interpretation of "FPS" type fun!

Dead Maze
Take on the zombie hordes in Dead Maze, a free-to-play 2-D massively multiplayer cooperative game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Players will have to work together to hunt and survive and to rebuild society.

DEATHVERSE: LET IT DIE
Death is nothing but entertainment for the masses in this F2P survival shooter.

Deceit
Now free-to-play, Deceit is a multiperson FPS that challenges players not only to kill their enemies but figure out who their enemies actually are. You wake up in an asylum, one of six people.

Dungeon Defenders 2
Dungeon Defenders 2 is the sequel to the very popular tower defense game Dungeon Defenders. The original featured unique heroes players could choose from, each with their own special abilities, persistent leveling, and acquired gear.

Eternal Return: Black Survival
Take on all comers in Nimble Neuron's free-to-play MOBA/survival/battle royale mash-up Eternal Return: Black Survival. The scientific organization AGLAIA is creating a race of advanced humans with amazing powers and putting them to the test in experimental battles against one another to see who comes out on top!

Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore
An "old school MMORPG" that pays tribute to those that came before it.

Fallout Shelter
Bethesda Softworks' hit mobile game comes to PC! In Fallout Shelter, you'll populate and manage the citizens of your Vault-Tec Vault, protecting them from the dangers of the Wasteland and encouraging them to rebuild society.

Fortnite
Play Fortnite in a totally new way, in Fortnite: Battle Royale, the free-to-play spinoff of Epic Games' builder/shooter. Like other classic BR games, you'll be dropped into the world and forced to scavenge and survive.

Guns and Robots
Guns and Robots is a third person shooter which combines silly robots and the wild west. In Guns and Robots players can create unique robots from scratch by combining over 150 individual components.

HAWKED
Free-to-play PvPvE, team-based treasure hunting, puzzle solving, and sharp shooting.

Infestation: The New Z
Fight against the zombie hordes and other desperate souls in Infestation: The New Z, a free-to-play survival game from the people who brought you Infestation: Survivor Stories. Explore a vast, open world, either on official servers or on a moderated server with its own rules set.

Line of Sight
Shotguns and sorcery collide in Line of Sight, an unconventional free-to-play first-person shooter from BlackSpot Entertainment and Game & Game. When conventional weapons aren't enough, take down your enemies with fireballs and tornadoes.

Lost Light
Go it alone or team up with friends (or enemies you decide to spare) in this cross-platform, survival shooter.

MechWarrior Online
MechWarrior Online is a free to play 3D simulation style multiplayer FPS mech game that captures the feeling of piloting a gigantic BattleMech. Players take control of one of a variety of towering Mechs which weight dozens of tons.

Mortal Online
Mortal Online is a free to play First Person sandbox MMORPG with a huge medieval fantasy world. This is a unique old-school PvP/PvE sandbox that just requires a little creative energy and the craving for opportunity.

No More Room in Hell
No More Room in Hell is a free to play cooperative FPS survival horror mod for the Source Engine, and focuses on survival in an “of the Dead” type universe loosely based on Romero’s famous work. The multiplayer co-op game play has been likened more to a survival horror game than a typical first person shooter, but the game relies on typical first person mechanics.

PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
Battle the odds in a 100v1 death match in PUBG: Battlegrounds, the classic free-to-play battle royale experience.

Realm of the Mad God
Realm of the Mad God is a free to play 2D browser based cooperative MMO shooter with RPG elements and retro styling straight from the 8-bit era. Fight monsters in groups of up to 85 players!

Realm Royale Reforged
Mount up and fight for the glory of the realm in Realm Royale Reforged, a free-to-play battle royale game from Hi-Rez Studios based on its hit shooter Paladins. Choose from one of five classes -- warrior, mage, hunter, assassin, or engineer -- and take on all comers in a furious fantasy fight to the finish.

Robocraft
Robocraft is a vehicular shooter, in which players build and then battle with their very own robotic creations. Robocraft features an incredibly flexible vehicle editor, which lets players place individual blocks in hundreds of configurations, giving them the ability to create truly unique robot designs.

Salem
Salem is a free-to-play crafting MMORPG developed by Seatribe and Mortal Moments, Inc. Players will experience an enormous open-world colonial setting where creation is the goal and all the necessary materials are for the taking – and permanent death is a real possibility.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best survival game for free?
Here's a few free survival games that may be worth checking out in no order:
1. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS2. Unturned
3. The Cycle: Frontier
4. Lost Light
5. Stay Out
Many sites aren't very particular when they recommend "survival" games as they may include battle royales, MOBAs, and games from other genres in the "survival" category.
Since we have separate lists here on MMOBomb for those genres, we'll stick to games where the main gameplay loop is going out into the wild to gather resources and advance your character or your character's house/belongings/equipment in our "survival" game recommendations, but we'll include a recommendation to PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS here since it is a bit more "survival" than typical battle royale titles.
What is the most realistic survival game?
Most survival games aren't very realistic at all since they often involve zombies, monsters, and other supernatural creatures. However, if by "realistic" you mean the graphics and the weaponry used then Will To Live, Stay Out, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and Lost Light are worth checking out.