Best Value Open World Survival Craft Games Under $40

The Open World Survival Craft games on Steam games under $40 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Median reviewer playtime divided by price. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Don't Starve Together62 h/$
  2. 2CryoFall27 h/$
  3. 3Rust22 h/$
  4. 4Terraria19 h/$
  5. 5Don't Starve14 h/$
  6. 6Space Engineers11 h/$
  7. 7Deadside9.8 h/$
  8. 8Survivalist: Invisible Strain8.9 h/$
  9. 9Green Hell8.8 h/$
  10. 10Valheim7.6 h/$
  11. 11Soulmask7.5 h/$
  12. 12Starbound6.7 h/$
  13. 13ARK: Survival Evolved6.4 h/$
  14. 14Project Zomboid5.5 h/$
  15. 15The Long Dark5.5 h/$
  16. 16TerraTech5.3 h/$
  17. 17Satisfactory4.6 h/$
  18. 18Ostranauts4.4 h/$
  19. 19Empyrion - Galactic Survival4.3 h/$
  20. 20Grounded4.1 h/$
  21. 21Conan Exiles Enhanced4.1 h/$
  22. 22Stormworks: Build and Rescue3.7 h/$
  23. 23The Survivalists3.5 h/$
  24. 24Longvinter3.4 h/$
  25. 25Stoneshard3.4 h/$
  26. 26The Planet Crafter3.4 h/$
  27. 27Stationeers3.4 h/$
  28. 28Subsistence3.3 h/$
  29. 29ICARUS3.2 h/$
  30. 30Myth of Empires3.1 h/$
  31. 31ASKA3.0 h/$
  32. 32The Infected3.0 h/$
  33. 33Core Keeper3.0 h/$
  34. 34The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria3.0 h/$
  35. 35Dinkum2.9 h/$
  36. 36Necesse2.8 h/$
  37. 37Palworld2.8 h/$
  38. 38Night of the Dead2.8 h/$
  39. 39Abiotic Factor2.7 h/$
  40. 40Eco2.5 h/$
  41. 41The Front2.4 h/$
  42. 42Survival: Fountain of Youth2.3 h/$
  43. 43Rising World2.3 h/$
  44. 44Sunkenland2.2 h/$
  45. 45SurrounDead2.2 h/$
  46. 46Outpath2.1 h/$
  47. 47Raft2.1 h/$
  48. 48DUCKSIDE1.9 h/$
  49. 49Mist Survival1.9 h/$
  50. 50DeadPoly1.9 h/$
  51. 51Volcanoids1.9 h/$
  52. 52Castle Story1.8 h/$
  53. 53Crashlands1.8 h/$
  54. 54Forever Skies1.7 h/$
  55. 55Card Survival: Fantasy Forest1.7 h/$
  56. 56Forager1.7 h/$
  57. 57Eden Crafters1.7 h/$
  58. 58Dying Light1.7 h/$
  59. 59ASTRONEER1.5 h/$
  60. 60I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival1.5 h/$
  61. 61Miscreated1.5 h/$
  62. 62Nightingale1.4 h/$
  63. 63The Forest1.3 h/$
  64. 64Occupy Mars: The Game1.3 h/$
  65. 65Subnautica1.2 h/$
  66. 66RuneScape: Dragonwilds1.2 h/$
  67. 67Days Gone1.2 h/$
  68. 68Smalland: Survive the Wilds1.0 h/$
  69. 69Wildmender1.0 h/$
  70. 70Nova Lands1.0 h/$
  71. 71Len's Island0.9 h/$
  72. 72Far Cry Primal0.9 h/$
  73. 73Crashlands 20.9 h/$
  74. 74Aloft0.9 h/$
  75. 75Craftopia0.9 h/$
  76. 76CastleMiner Z0.9 h/$
  77. 77Subnautica: Below Zero0.8 h/$
  78. 78Voidtrain0.8 h/$
  79. 79Survive the Nights0.8 h/$
  80. 80Breathedge0.7 h/$
  81. 81Tribes of Midgard0.7 h/$
  82. 82The Wild Eight0.7 h/$
  83. 83Stranded Deep0.7 h/$
  84. 84Dead Island: Riptide Definitive Edition0.7 h/$
  85. 85Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey0.5 h/$
  86. 86Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition0.5 h/$
  87. 87Arctico0.2 h/$

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.