Multiplayer
Multiplayer in Don't Starve: Elsewhere supports solo play and online co-op, with in-game chat and Steam Family Sharing on the Steam side. This article covers confirmed modes and features, how co-op works at a high level, coexistence with Don't Starve Together, and the multiplayer details that have not yet been disclosed.
On This Page
Don't Starve: Elsewhere supports both solo play and online co-op. The marketing line from Klei Entertainment sums it up plainly: gather your friends or go it alone. The same world, the same survival ruleset, and the same threats apply either way. For the broader project pitch, see the main overview, for first steps see Getting Started, and for the survival loop multiplayer sits on top of, see Survival Basics.
Modes
Two play modes have been confirmed and listed on the storefront. Party caps, host model, and persistence behavior have not been published yet.
Mode | Notes |
|---|---|
Solo | Single-player session with no other humans. The full survival loop, biomes, and Fog hazards are tuned to be tackled alone if preferred. |
Online Co-op | Cooperative survival with other players over the internet. Resources gathered and bases built can be shared between teammates, with in-game chat for coordination. |
Steam-Listed Features
The Steam product page lists a small set of multiplayer-relevant features. These are the only items the storefront has formally tagged so far.
Feature | What It Means |
|---|---|
Online Co-op | Play together with other people over the internet in a shared session. |
In-Game Chat | Built-in text chat lets a co-op group coordinate inside the game without a third-party app. |
Steam Family Sharing | Eligible family members can launch the game without buying a separate copy, subject to the platform's standard rules. |
Multi-Language Support | Several languages are listed on the product page, useful for cross-region groups. |
How Co-Op Works
Co-op is cooperative survival rather than competitive play. A group works the same survival loop together, sharing resources and a base while splitting roles such as scouting, gathering, cooking, and defense. Hunger, sanity, and the falling and Fog hazards apply to every player individually, but food, tools, and structures produced by any one player can support the rest of the group. See Survival Basics for the mechanics every co-op group has to manage.
Hosting, world player caps, what happens when the host leaves, and whether progress carries between sessions have not been spelled out publicly.
Coexistence with Don't Starve Together
Klei has been explicit that Elsewhere is not a replacement for Don't Starve Together. The studio's stated position is that both games will have equal reasons to exist for a long while, and that Elsewhere is shaping up to be a very different experience. Don't Starve Together will continue to receive updates after Elsewhere ships.
Cosmetics and skins from Don't Starve Together will not transfer to Elsewhere; the art style is rebuilt from the ground up. No cross-progression has been announced, and groups should plan separate save data for each.
Unconfirmed Details
Several common multiplayer questions do not yet have official answers. The list below tracks what has not been disclosed.
Maximum party size for an online co-op session.
Dedicated server hosting, in addition to player-hosted sessions.
Drop-in and drop-out join behavior during an active session.
Whether co-op worlds persist when the host is offline, and how saves migrate between players.
Cross-progression or shared unlocks between solo and co-op characters.
Voice chat inside the game itself.
Mod support, including any Workshop-style integration.
This article will be updated as new multiplayer details are confirmed. Anything not in the Modes or Steam-Listed Features tables above should be treated as unconfirmed.