Best Xbox Survival Games

Ark: Survival Ascended (Xbox Series X|S)

Ark, in one form or another, feels as though it's been sat on my Xbox since prehistoric times. It's just a forever constant of a thing. In its latest form, Ark: Survival Ascended, the game, which sees players survive and thrive on a huge open world map stuffed full of (tameable) dinosaurs, gets a sexy graphical overhaul and a bunch of refined mechanics, so it looks and plays the part of a thoroughly modern adventure.

It's also a survival game that's been around long enough to have accumulated nearly 200 species of dino, plenty of which can be tamed - heck there are even robo dinos in there now - and the crafting and building aspects, alongside PvP aspects make for a huge and all-encompassing survival game that, besides a few bugs here and there, gives you the sort full-fat survival experience that's quite often reserved for the PC hardcore.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Atomfall (Xbox Series X|S)

Atomfall released just recently and it continues Rebellion's habit of making very unique, and very good games.

This survival effort has one of our favourite settings, pitched as you are into an utterly British style of end-times - whereby you're tasked with marauding around the place in an attempt to figure out how you woke up in a lab with amnesia during the apocalypse - whilst not dying. So like a standard Thursday afternoon in Manchester, then.

Atomfall utilises the Sniper Elite series for its core mechanics, so you know the sniping and sneaking is on point here and it melds this with a story that does a great job in keeping things mysterious, and even a little folksy-horror-tinged by its ending, as we said in our hands-on back at release:

"It's all seriously impressive, especially given it's only 20 hours long, that they've created so many fun little story diversions and mysteries to play around with in its five distinct and interconnected open world maps."

If you fancy fighting, wheeling and dealing your way through a very violent rendition of the UK in the midst of a proper meltdown (insert joke about just looking out the window), this one is for you! Just watch out for the cultists.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Xbox One)

Don't Starve needs no introduction at this point, it's a survival classic that's stood the test of time, because it's awesome.

In a strange world full of weird creatures and surprises galore, your aim here is to unravel the lore of the land whilst surviving via crafting, resource management and all that good survival-y stuff. With the ability to play in co-op with up to six people, Don't Starve is a uniquely-styled, and surprisingly challenging experience that rewards those with the patience to learn its loops well.

It may look a little cutesy at times, but this one will kill you stone dead if you don't pay it the respect it deserves!

• Xbox Game Pass? No

Green Hell (Xbox Series X|S)

Green Hell is a game that this particular writer first played on Switch, which isn't really ideal. However, its brilliance still shone through a port that made things a little muddier than they needed to be. And in this Xbox version, there are no such tech issues, so you're left to enjoy what is a surprisingly intense and atmospheric survival ordeal.

And it really is an ordeal. It's called Green Hell for a reason. There's death around every corner, behind every tree, and your survival in this thriving Amazonian rainforest setting is determined by your ability to gather, build, hunt and shelter successfully whilst surrounded by a jungle's worst nightmares. Eaten by a tiger, anyone? Heck, even the weather here is against you a lot of the time.

With solo and online co-op, this is one of the more intense and visceral survival experiences currently out there, and a bargain at the price it's going for.

• Xbox Game Pass? No

Grounded (Xbox One)

We absolutely adore Grounded. What at first seemed like a game aimed squarely at kids (and those of us who loved Honey I Shrunk the Kids), what we've actually got is one of the most exciting, clever and polished survival games around.

Being shrunk down and lost in a garden might seem a bit low-key and not dangerous, but mark our words, the big bugs here are gonna have you making all sorts of marks on your undershorts in quick order, should you underestimate them.

With stunning graphics and world-building, a real sense of purpose and huge surprises around every corner (quite literally), Grounded also remembers to ensure its survival mechanics are deep, rewarding for co-op play and pleasingly flexible. This is still one of the very best Xbox survival games at this current time, it's that good.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Minecraft (Xbox One)

Well, we'll type some stuff into the description for a laugh here, but by now everyone already knows, we're sure, how good Minecraft is. It doesn't have its own Jack Black movie for no reason!

Minecraft gives you a weird (and really quite excellent) campaign to set about completing (it will take a while to get to the Ender Dragon, believe this poor mug), but it excels in its never-ending creativity, its ability to transfix adults and children alike, and with survival that, owing to the nature of the rules of its world, ends up feeling like a real second life. All this time later, it's still as essential as ever.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

No Man's Sky (Xbox One)

Another one that needs little introduction at this point, we've waxed lyrical about the turnaround this one performed plenty of times in the past, and it's now bigger and better than ever with what seems like an endless supply of meaningful updates.

No Man's Sky might have gotten off to a shaky start, but it's undoubtedly one of the best Xbox survival games right now, a huge game that really does allow you to just fanny around in an "infinite" universe (heck, you can even hunt for prehistoric fossils), or get with the program and follow the actually intriguing narrative. The sort of game that disappears your mates forever, if you've not played it yet you're missing out. If it's been a while, there's a fair chance you've missed a lot of new stuff!

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Palworld (Xbox Series X|S)

One for younger audiences, and for people who hate Pokemon so much they want to shoot a bunch of them.

Palworld is a great big colorful explosion of violence where you collet pals who can be bred to fight and to work at various tasks. or you just sell them. Or eat them. Not a joke.

Palworld sets its stall out in a harsh (but very colourful) world where poachers take no prisoners and danger looms large. With building aspects, tons of pal types, mounts, engaging exploration, dungeons, factories, farming and more besides, this is a big one alright. It's also far, far more than the rip-off "Pokemon with guns" that we were expecting.

With multiplayer battles and co-op adventuring to boot, this one is a no-brainer.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Raft (Xbox Series X|S)

The premise of Raft, which launched stealthily onto Xbox late last year, is to build and survive within the incredibly tight confines of...well...a raft.

This epic, ocean-based adventure sees you attempt to make a very hazardous journey (sharks are scary) whilst gathering debris, scavenging around reefs and all the while building a floating fortress for yourself to live on. Of course, there's also a great big world to explore here, you're not stuck on a tiny raft for the whole thing.

This one has done the business due to word of mouth on PC, and it's been received very well on Xbox thus far, thanks to a very nice port job, so make sure to check it out if you find the the time. It even lets you get terrified at sea with a few mates in tow. With so many crappy cheap clones of this floating around on the store already, it's easy to tell it's got the magic juice, and a great thing that we get the real deal on consoles in the end.

• Xbox Game Pass? No

Rust Console Edition (Xbox One)

Rust, at this point, feels as though it's been around since the dawn of time. This is the sort of game that you almost need to live in, to be quite honest and, should you wish to go that way, it is at least very good.

Survival here, against cold, hunger, thirst...and bloodthirsty killers, is tough, this is a hardcore game, loud and proud, and for a group who want the hardest and most involving type of survival, it's hard to knock. It's also the sort of survival experience (similar to The Forest and Sons of the Forest) that is usually reserved for PC.

It's worth noting that Rust Console Edition will be shutting down for last-gen consoles (meaning Xbox One and PS4) in October 2025, and delisting in May. In its place will be a "stunning" new-gen version for Xbox Series X|S that arrives in Summer 2025, and looks set to transform the game's otherwise fairly rusty visuals at this point.

• Xbox Game Pass? No

State of Decay 2 (Xbox One)

Another Xbox Studios banger, the first State of Decay, and the initial release of this sequel, had their issues, but State of Decay 2 has gone on to become almost everything we hoped this series would be from the outset.

Switching between characters deftly to do jobs without dying, watching as your team becomes exhausted, and carefully picking and choosing your supply and resource runs is a fine time all told, undercut with some genuine tension as hordes get the better of your carefully set defenses. This is the sort of survival game where mistakes are costly, and there are a ton to be made thanks to the depth and intricacy of systems on offer.

Co-op play only serves to enhance what's on offer here too, so before part 3 hits, maybe it's finally time to wade in and see what it's all about. It may take a little focus for the first hour or two as you get a feel for it, but State of Decay 2 is soon grows into something that's very, very hard to stop thinking about. It's a zombie apocalypse classic.

• Xbox Game Pass? Yes

Subnautica (Xbox Series X|S)

A stone cold classic of the genre, Subnautica is a game we've ranted on about a load of times, it's made it into several of our "best of" lists and it's here again as one of our best Xbox survival games, because it's so darn good.

Crash-land into an alien ocean, systems offline. Dive down into a terrifying world full of monstrosities and start collecting the bits and bobs you need. Grind out a battery, upgrade your skill trees and tech. Make some flippers, then an oxygen tank. Go deeper. Terrifying. Make a submarine. An underwater base. Deeper still. Into the trench. What horrors and secrets await?

You gotta play it.

• Xbox Game Pass? No

The Long Dark (Xbox One)

Released back in 2017, we first played The Long Dark on PC and had to pick it up on our Xbox also, because it's so enjoyable. Indeed, when we consider the survival genre as whole, this is one of the titles that always springs to mind.

It's a stylish world to survive in, this frigid winter hinterland, where real life threats, rather than zombies or cannibals, wait to take you out. Although, mostly you'll just freeze to death. It slow, it's thoughtful and atmospheric in all the right ways This the sort of game that feels like so much more than the sum of its parts thanks to how much care and attention has gone into its world-building and style.

Unforgiving in all the right ways, tough and challenging, and mighty rewarding to boot, this is another survival masterclass on Xbox consoles.

• Xbox Game Pass? No

This War of Mine: The Little Ones (Xbox One)

This War of Mine: The Little Ones makes the cut here because it's a survival game that very bravely brings home some of the realities of actual war. Also, this version adds children to the mix, and is therefore doubly thought-provoking.

A gritty, realistic style of endeavour, This War of Mine seeks to put you in the shoes, not of super soldiers or hard lads, but normal people, as they escape and survive a constant series of threats in a besieged city.

Based in part on real events, it's unforgiving, emotional, true to life and full of pre-designed and random scenarios to test you out. Just be warned that, as well made and addicting as the crafting and other gameplay loops are here, it pulls no punches in its depictions of the cruelty of war. There are some sad stories told here.

Also, while we have plumped for the best version (in this writer's mind) you can check out the Final Cut version on Xbox Game Pass. Essentially the same game, just without The Little Ones additional content.

• Xbox Game Pass? (In it's Final Cut form) Yes

Valheim (Xbox Series X|S)

Valheim really took the PC survival scene by storm when it dropped a few years back.

This beautiful and enchanting indie survival experience was immediately on our list of stuff we wanted ported to Xbox as soon as we played it on Steam, in fact, so we were very pleased when it actually landed on consoles.

Currently still in 'Game Preview', this one sees you set out to survive in a brutal (and magical) world of Norse mythology. Maps are procedurally generated and you set out from your starting point in a snowy forest to craft weapons, build longhouses and slay monstrosities in order to prove yourself to Odin.

With distinct environs to uncover and explore, ships to sail, tons of customisaiton for your viking longhouses and a ton of tiers of gear to unlock and explore, this is one hell of a good time. And it's not even finished yet!

• Xbox Game Pass? No (but there is a free trial)

7 Days to Die (Xbox One)

7 Days to Die initially got off to a rough start on Xbox consoles, but its new 1.0 version that arrived at the tail end of 2024 has fared much better with Xbox fans thus far. It took many, many years for this to finally get a proper Xbox version!

In this game, which is also still in Game Preview phase, you head into an open world overrun by....wait for it...

Zombies.

Yeah, OK, we're bored of zombies a bit, too, but here the mixture of FPS, RPG, tower defense mechanics and survival horror meld in such a clever way that we don't really mind the undead as much as we might do. There are some huge environments here, over 100km of biomes to romp through, apparently, and co-operation is also key to working towards successful settlements and raids on other player's bases. Yes PvP is a thing here.

The buzz from Xbox fans has been positive on this one, so make sure to jump in and see what all the fuss is about!

• Xbox Game Pass? No (but there is a free trial)