Games Like Rust
12 multiplayer games like Rust that your group can play together, and each card shows how many can join and whether it has crossplay.
12 games like Rust
DayZ
Everyone spawns with almost nothing in a fictional post-Soviet country full of infected and searches for food, water, clothing and weapons. Other players can help or kill you, and death is permanent for that character.
2–60 online
Unturned
Surviving the zombie outbreak means looting towns and military bases for food and weapons, crafting tools and building a base. You can face only zombies on your own server or join PvP servers.
2–24 onlineFree
The Isle
Each player is a dinosaur that hatches small, has to eat and drink, and grows over hours into an adult. Carnivores hunt other players, and dying means starting over.
2–10 online
ARK: Survival Evolved
You wake up on an island full of dinosaurs, gather resources, build bases and level up. Nearly every creature can be tamed to ride, fight alongside you or gather resources.
2–10 online · 2 on one screenCrossplay
V Rising
As newly awakened vampires, you gather resources, build a castle and hunt bosses to drink their blood and unlock powers. Sunlight burns you, so daytime travel means staying in the shade.
2–40 online
Dune: Awakening
In the desert of Arrakis, you survive by collecting water, building a base, crafting vehicles like ornithopters and harvesting spice. Sandworms attack anyone crossing open sand, and if one swallows you, you lose your gear.
2–4 online
Raft
On a small raft in the ocean, you hook floating debris to expand it, cook food and purify water. A shark keeps attacking the raft, and the story advances by sailing to islands.
2–8 online
7 Days to Die
You loot buildings, mine and craft weapons in a fully destructible block world full of zombies, building a base with traps. Every seventh night a horde comes straight for wherever the players are.
2–8 onlineCrossplay
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition
You cross the city of Villedor by parkour, paraglider and grappling hook, fighting infected and bandits and deciding which faction controls each district. At night the infected fill the streets and leave the buildings emptier.
2–4 online
VEIN
After a zombie apocalypse, you survive in an open world by looting buildings, cooking, farming and setting up a base you defend from zombies and bandits. Electricity, water and gas in buildings are simulated.
2–16 online
Project Zomboid
In a zombie apocalypse in Kentucky, you survive by looting houses, fortifying a safehouse and farming while managing hunger, injuries and mood. Zombies are drawn to noise, and a bite is fatal.
2–32 online · 4 on one screen
Once Human
In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by mutated creatures, you survive by shooting, gathering resources and building a base. You capture Deviations, creatures that fight alongside you or work at the base.
2–4 onlineCrossplayFree
Free games like Rust
- 1Unturned2–24 online
- 2Once Human2–4 online
Games like Rust with crossplay
- 1ARK: Survival Evolved2–10 online
- 27 Days to Die2–8 online
- 3Once Human2–4 online
Games like Rust with split screen
- 1ARK: Survival Evolved2–10 online
- 2Project Zomboid2–32 online
How we pick games like Rust
The order depends on how much each game has in common with Rust. Style of play and genre (Survival) count the most, then whether you play on the same side or against each other, and after that pace, setting and camera, with the most-played game going first when two are tied. Every game here runs on at least one platform that Rust is on, so nobody in the group needs new hardware to switch.
Frequently asked questions
What games are like Rust?
The closest ones in the catalog are DayZ, Unturned, The Isle, ARK: Survival Evolved and V Rising, which play in a similar style and run on at least one of the same platforms as Rust.
Are there free games like Rust?
Yes, Unturned and Once Human are free to play.
Which games like Rust have crossplay?
ARK: Survival Evolved, 7 Days to Die and Once Human. Each game's page shows which platforms can play together.
Which games like Rust have split screen?
ARK: Survival Evolved and Project Zomboid can be played on one screen.
How do we choose what to play as a group?
Send the group a free CoopGames poll. Each person takes about 30 seconds to answer, anonymously, and the app drops every game that someone can't play on their platform or that doesn't fit your group size. You vote on what's left, and the app looks for a time when you can all play.
Let your group vote on what to play
Send the group a poll link. Each person answers in 30 seconds, and you vote only among the games all of you can play.