Survival crafting (survival game)

A survival game drops you into a hostile open world with almost nothing and makes you manage hunger, thirst and health while you gather resources and craft tools and shelter. The worlds are often persistent and generated at random, and more and more are shared online.

Where the name comes from

No first use of the name has been found. Sources say a distinct survival genre took shape in the 1990s but was not clearly defined until the early 21st century, with UnReal World (1992) as an early example and Minecraft (2009) as the game that made it mainstream.

Where the edges are

Survival games share a word, but little else, with survival horror. Wikipedia says only that “many” survival games feature crafting, so crafting is not strictly required. Shared online worlds where players fight each other change the genre, and survival mechanics appear in so many games that the edges are hard to draw.

Key survival crafting games

Each game links to its article; the last column links to the source that puts it in the genre.

Related genres: Survival horror, City builder, Cozy game.

At a glance

Parent genre

Action game

Early example

UnReal World (1992)

Breakthrough

Minecraft (2009)

Also called

Survival game

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026.

1. Survival game — Wikipedia