Grounded 2 goes live on July 29, 2025, but there's a lot of time to kill between now and then, and maybe you're looking for a game to play, but not sure which one. Well, there are many to choose from; some niche, and others more mainstream. Depending on what tickles your fancy (dry hostile planet, dragons, or infinite space), there are few to choose from.
That being said, here are seven of the best multiplayer survival games for you to try out until Grounded 2 releases. Granted, you won't have enough time to experience everything they have to offer in such a short timespan, but it's worth giving them a go. Without further ado, here's the list.
Dune Awakening and six other multiplayer survival games to try while you wait for Grounded 2
1) Dune Awakening (Pay-to-play)

If you like storytelling, lore, inhospitable climate, and have a penchant for surviving against the odds, Dune Awakening is just the MMORPG for you. Having been released on June 10, 2025, the game opened to positive reviews and has a lot to offer, not just in terms of combat, but crafting and overall survival mechanics.
Perhaps the only issue at large is the Deep Desert (PvP zone), which is rather difficult to navigate as a solo player. And of late, even the PvE zones in Hagga Basin South and riddled with griefers.
But putting these issues aside, if you want a fair but challenging survival MMORPG, Dune Awakening has you covered. With Arrakis and the mystery behind the disappearance of the Fremen being the central plot, there's a lot to see and do.
2) Rust (Pay-to-play)

There's nothing to say about Rust that hasn't been said before in numerous languages. In many ways, Rust is like that friend whom you dislike, but keep hanging out with just in case something new and exciting happens in their life.
If you talk about unfair survival multiplayer games, Grounded 2 seems unfair since you're shrunk down to the size of a bug, but Rust would be at the top of anyone's list. You start on the beach, with nothing to your name, except your wits, an open microphone, and everyone out to kill you. Your goal is simple: survive.
To that end, you'll have to collect resources, craft tools and items you'll need, build a fortified shelter (that will eventually and inevitably be blown up by a random clan), and of course, kill the opposition to survive. Which may not be enough, as they can raid your base when you're asleep, and make you want to rage quit the next time you log on.
3) Once Human (Free-to-play)

Once Human is as weird as Grounded 2, and that's a good thing. This title offers both PvE and PvP, but on separate servers, which is truly an ingenious idea (kudos to the developers). It also has private servers, where you can host and implement custom rules as you see fit.
With Once Human 2.0 (Endless Dream) releasing on July 3, 2025, there's a content injection coming as well. A new Scenario, weapons, items, objectives, and everything in between. The best part? The game is free, and with regular updates, there's a lot for you to do.
4) ARK: Survival Evolved (Pay-to-play)

Grounded 2 has bugs. You can ride them, tame them, and even fight them to survive. In terms of scale and size, they are larger than you, but not nearly as large as the dinosaurs that you get to see in ARK: Survival Evolved. 10 years and counting, this MMO has been going strong, and with a positive rating on Steam, it's going to be around for a long time.
Coming to the core aspects of the game, there's a lot to do and see. At first, things will be overwhelming, but as you learn the ropes, you'll eventually have what it takes to even tame the mighty Tyrannodominator in ARK Survival Ascended. If you're goal is not to become the ultimate beastmaster, well, you could focus your attention on PvP, but that's another topic altogether.
Since PvP can get rather soul-crushing, staying on PvE servers might be the better option. There's a lot to explore, and no shortage of content for you to try out. This includes ARK Survival Ascended Ragnarok, which will introduce you to a lot of new creatures and biomes. With the game now running on Unreal Engine v5.5, you'll be able to see some stunning landscapes if you happen to have a high-end rig.
5) No Man's Sky (Pay-to-play)

Grounded 2 plans to be bigger in many ways and introduce new features. The playable area has been vastly extended, and there'll be lots of space to explore. However, if that feels too small, how does 18 quintillion explorable (18,446,744,073,709,551,616) planets sound to you? It's time to welcome the giant of the survival playground - No Man's Sky.
In NMS, space is not the final frontier, but rather the front porch for you to take a leap of faith off of. There is no shortage of sights, sounds, and creatures that want to kill you. To truly explain what No Man's Sky has to offer, one would have to play it, which in turn will lead you straight into an audio-visual overload.
You have fishing, crafting, trading, exploration, settlement management, expeditions, building a base, and everything in between. If you plan on playing NMS while waiting for Grounded 2 to come out, you'll not get a lot done. At least a hundred hours will be needed just to grasp everything, and that is still the tip of the iceberg.
6) RuneScape Dragonwilds (Pay-to-play)

RuneScape Dragonwilds takes everything you know about RuneScape and reinvents it as an open-world survival game. It's still in early access, having released fairly recently on April 15, 2025, but it has a lot of potential. However, it has to be said that there's not a whole lot to do once you finish whatever is available to you. Until the next update, expect some downtime, or you can collect resources and stockpile them for future content.
Coming to the game itself, it's absolutely beautiful. If you've played RuneScape, this will feel like home away from home. From the animations to the mechanics (some of which are still in development), it's sheer brilliance. Everything seems to overlap, but not in a way that's confusing. With progress being mostly linear, tasking you to venture from biome to the next, it's a slow grind, but fun with friends.
There's some PvP, but it's still in its infancy. The server host can turn PvP on or off, so it's more of a situational mechanic, and not something that's inherently part of the experience if you don't want it to be. All in all, it's a fun survival game even when played solo.
7) Valheim (Pay-to-play)

If you love survival games that are steeped in mythological lore, Valheim has to be the number one contender. Don't go looking for insane graphics (although there are mods that will make the game look prettier); instead, look towards gameplay. The game has a lot to offer, and it does so brilliantly, with linear progression for the most part.
However, it must be said that Valheim is not great as a solo survival game. Sure, you can indeed play by yourself, but it shines when you bring friends along for the ride. There's crafting, building, taming, fighting, and a lot of running away from enemies that you thought were easy, but in reality can and will one-hit kill you.
With the Deep North update in development, the last biome and other QoL changes will be implemented soon. If you're curious about Norse mythology, this is the perfect game while you wait for Grounded 2 to release. Who knows, you just might forget about the latter altogether.
Read more Grounded 2 articles here:
- Everything we know about Grounded 2, coming this July
- Grounded 2 vs Grounded: What features are coming to the new title?