Survival games have always been a main stay in gaming, but this year has brought the genre to a totally different level. With global phenomenon of Palworld in early 2024, the survival genre was launched into a completely new era where the core elements of these survival games have remained the same but are expressed throughout different games in completely unique ways. To celebrate this milestone in the genre, Steam is putting on the “Steam Open World Survival Crafting Fest” for the first time, in which many of the survival games that we know and love, as well as many others, will be showcased and are put on sale with the best prices of the year.

While the virtual festivals name could be more creative, the games with the spotlight on them more than make up for it. From the ever-popular classics like Rust and Valheim, to early access games like Palworld, the latest release Soulmask, and everything in between, there is truly a game for every type of gamer in this event. So, whether someone enjoys single player games, massive multiplayer lobbies, or gaming with a group of friends, survival games have something that will fit to any players’ exact preferences. The only notable game missing is Minecraft, which is owned by Minecraft and therefore does not appear on Steam for purchase. This Steam event started on May 28th and goes on to June 3rd.

Since this is a first-time event for Steam, it is important to identify why survival games are getting the spotlight now when they have existed as long as video games in general have. There are two major reasons for this sudden surge in survival game popularity:

  1. The newest survival games have increasingly more complexities associated with their in-game systems. From crafting and building to puzzles and combat, everything is becoming more complex and interesting. The best survival games will make these complexities more fun simultaneously, keeping players engaged and wanting more despite the potentially steep learning curve that comes with these complexities. For example, instead of having wood that you build a tool with (along with other components), more and more survival games have several types of wood that are tiered, and each higher tier of wood makes that tool more powerful, but in turn that wood is harder to find. That being said, not all games get these complex systems right, making them more monotonous than fun, so that games that do are really amazing.
  2. Just like always, survival games are on the cutting edge of video game technology. A visually stunning world and action-packed combat are just the tip of the iceberg for survival games nowadays. Current survival games are taking gaming to the next level with Artificial Intelligence (AI). While AI has always been part of gaming in small ways, players directly interacting with the AI and having it do tasks in-game for the player is a completely new universe that survival games are starting to scratch the surface of; Ark Survival Palworld, and Soulmask are great examples of games where AI can do nearly all the mundane tasks of mass crafting and resources gathering as long as the player sets it up correctly. Just within these survival games, the world can see a microcosm of AI has the potential to do in games and in real life.

This is why Survival Games are being shown the spotlight as the summer kicks off. There are a lot of great open world survival crafting games out there and it is high time they started getting the credit they deserve. Therefore, Steam is putting on a digital festival to celebrate these amazing games. Fan-favorites from this event include Palworld, Rust, Terraria, and Raft.