Joining a shared world
Nothing requires a group. You can play the same game in single-player whenever you like. For online play, launch the game through Steam and join a Steam friend's game from the multiplayer menu.
One player opens a world from their computer with multiplayer enabled, and everyone else joins them. Multiplayer is drop-in, drop-out, and the host needs to be playing for the world to be available. There are currently no dedicated servers.
Your character comes with you, the world stays with the host
When you join a friend, you choose one of your own characters to bring into their world. The buildings, terrain, and other changes to that world are saved by the host. Everyone also needs to be running the same version of the game.
If the host uses mods, everyone should install and enable the same ones before joining. That keeps the group from ending up with missing or mismatched items, creatures, and buildings.
Co-op and PvP in the same world
Explore, mine, build, craft, and fight alongside friends in a shared world. PvP is there for groups that want a little (or a lot) of betrayal mixed into survival.
The host controls Prevent Friendly Fire in multiplayer settings. Choose Yes to prevent players from hurting each other, or No to allow PvP.
Online play is still being polished
We are continuing to improve multiplayer. Connection quality and unusual combinations of mods can still cause problems.
If something goes wrong, use the issue reporting page. Tell us who was hosting, what everyone was doing, whether you could make it happen again, and which mods were enabled.
Available now in Early Access
Play alone or join friends online through Steam.