Android
iOSAndroid and iOS mobile review
Don't Starve Together
Klei's co-op survival game for $9.99 on phones, with current PC content but mobile-only servers and a hard 4 GB RAM line.
- Mobile release date
- Developed by
- Klei Entertainment
- Play style
- Open-ended survival in solo or up to six-player worlds: gather and craft by day, keep light and sanity at night, and prepare for each season's threats
Game artworkBuy it if you have a phone with more than 4 GB of RAM and friends who will also play on mobile. You get the complete, current game for less than the $14.99 Steam price, with cosmetics as the only paid extras, and players who stayed through the first two months describe a port that has improved quickly. Hold off if your phone is at or near the minimum. Playdigious excludes weaker Android devices from sale, but cannot block older iPhones and iPads it says may freeze or crash, and 4 GB devices lose Caves when hosting. Also hold off if you want to join friends on PC or console: cross-play does not exist and is not planned. Owners of a strong recent phone get a demanding, deeply replayable survival game. Everyone else is paying to discover whether their device holds up.
See why it got this score ↓On this page
Source-reviewed assessment by Games Ranker Editorial: Games Ranker did not claim a first-hand test for this score. We verified product facts and evaluated attributed mobile testing from the named reviewers below. Store details were last checked using the United States baseline on September 23, 2026; availability and prices may differ in your country. See how source-reviewed scores work.
The essentials
What is Don't Starve Together?
Don't Starve Together is the multiplayer version of Klei's gothic survival game: gather, craft, eat, keep your sanity, and prepare for each season's giants, alone or with up to five other players. Playdigious's mobile port is a separate $9.99 purchase with a rebuilt touch interface, and its September 16 update brought it level with the current PC content. It is not a window into the PC community, though. Mobile players only meet other mobile players, PC and console saves cannot be imported, mods are not supported, and phones with 4 GB of RAM or less cannot host a world with Caves. Games Ranker has not played this edition; this assessment combines the live US store listings, Playdigious's support documentation and patch notes, a dated iPhone 15 Pro review, and named player reports.
Why it stands out
- The complete Don't Starve Together, current with the latest PC content as of the September 16, 2026 update, for $9.99
- A rebuilt touch interface with resizable controls, a fixed or floating joystick and tap-to-craft, plus remappable controller support
- Solo worlds can run as Local Only, auto-pause in menus, and several players report playing offline
- No ads or timers; the paid currency buys only cosmetic content, and cosmetics also drop through play
- Linking a Klei account brings over skins and characters already unlocked on PC or console
What to consider
- Devices with 4 GB of RAM or less cannot host a world with Caves, including phones that meet the minimum requirement
- No cross-play with PC or console, and Playdigious says none is planned
- No mods, console commands or dedicated 24/7 servers
- Playdigious says it can overheat even powerful phones, and players report stutters in busy fights
- Targeting and quick-use actions can still be awkward on touch in crowded bases and hectic fights
Is it for you?
Should you download it?
Survival fans with a recent phone that has more than 4 GB of RAM, especially groups who will all play on mobile and want the full current game rather than the older single-player Pocket Edition.
Your phone has 4 GB of RAM or less, you mainly want to play with friends on PC or console, or modded worlds are why you play on PC. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is the lighter solo survival run, Mindustry the base-builder with multiplayer, and DAVE THE DIVER the calmer premium port with a clearer structure.
Compare the alternatives: Mindustry · Shattered Pixel Dungeon · DAVE THE DIVER
Score details
Why Don't Starve Together scored 7.4
We score both the game itself and how well this version works on a phone or tablet.
Fun
The design is proven: on Steam, 515,684 of 543,377 reviews were positive when we checked, and the loop of preparing each day for the season ahead stays replayable across randomized worlds and a large cast with different abilities. Playdigious says the September 16 update made the mobile content match the latest PC updates, including WX-78's skill tree. Two limits keep this below 9. The game's long-term variety on PC leans heavily on mods, which mobile does not support and has no plans to add, and its punishing, unexplained survival rules still turn away players who want guidance.
Phone experience
This is a real touch redesign, not a mapped PC interface. Alban Martin found the controls fluid on an iPhone 15 Pro and the tap-to-craft system intuitive. The layout can be resized, a fixed or floating joystick arrived in August, solo play can auto-pause in menus, and controllers work. The problems are precision and density. Players reported a delay when tapping attack, wrong targets in crowded bases, and awkward special-ability buttons for characters such as Wanda and Wortox. They also reported that inventory cannot be managed while moving. Playdigious has reworked targeting twice, but a busy HUD on a small screen remains the price of full content.
Value
$9.99 buys the full, current game for less than its $14.99 Steam price, with no ads, energy or timers, and optional cosmetics are the only in-app purchases. The value depends heavily on your situation, though. PC and console owners must buy again and cannot import saves; only cosmetic unlocks linked through a Klei account carry over. Mobile servers are the only place you can play. A 4 GB phone still pays full price for a version that cannot host Caves.
Performance
The results depend on the device. Martin called an iPhone 15 Pro very solid, and several Android players said it ran smoothly. Playdigious itself warns that the game can overheat or drain batteries quickly even on powerful devices. It locks Caves hosting on devices with 4 GB of RAM or less and lists iPhones and iPads it still sells to but expects to freeze or crash. On Android, a 6 GB Redmi stopped launching and was refunded after the cause was traced to an incompatible GPU, one solo player reported boss-fight stutters at the lowest settings, and others reported lag only when joining someone else's server. The known-issues list still includes a cannon crash. Games Ranker has measured no frame rate, heat or battery result of its own.
Ads & purchases
No ads, and Playdigious states that Bolts, the paid currency, buy only cosmetic content with no gameplay advantage. Cosmetics can also drop from play or be woven from Spools earned by unraveling duplicates. There are three deductions. Google Play's price range runs to $49.99 per item. On PC, four characters (Wortox, Wormwood, Wurt and Wanda) need a paid chest or 2,700 Spools, and Playdigious's own notes refer to premium characters on mobile, so not every playable character is freely available on day one. Its iOS compatibility page also warns that it cannot block sales to unsupported devices or refund those players itself.
On mobile
Features that matter
- 01Survive randomized worlds by managing hunger, sanity and health through the day-night cycle and four seasons
- 02Play solo or host and join servers of up to six players, public or local-only, with optional PvP
- 03Tune world size, starting season, resources, creatures and giants when creating a server
- 04Choose from a large cast of characters with their own abilities and skill trees earned through play
- 05Farm, build a base, sail the ocean and fight seasonal giants, with Caves as a second world layer on capable devices
- 06Resize the touch layout, choose a fixed or floating joystick, or switch to a controller with selectable button glyphs
- 07Link a Klei account to carry cosmetic unlocks from PC or console, with cloud saves between devices on the same platform
Quick answers
Common questions about Don't Starve Together on mobile
Straight answers about price, content, offline play, controls, and compatibility.
Can I play Don't Starve Together mobile with friends on PC or console?+
No. Playdigious's support page says there is no cross-play with PC or console and that it is not planned. Mobile players can only join other mobile players, on servers of up to six. If your group plays on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch, the mobile version will not let you join them.
Do I get Don't Starve Together on mobile free if I own it on Steam or console?+
No. The mobile edition is a separate $9.99 purchase, and PC or console saves and servers cannot be transferred. What does carry over is cosmetic ownership: link the same verified email to your Klei account on both platforms and your skins and unlocked characters appear on mobile. Progress also does not move between Android and iPhone; cloud saves work only within the same platform.
Why can't I add Caves to my Don't Starve Together world on mobile?+
Your device probably has 4 GB of RAM or less. Playdigious automatically disables Caves when such a device hosts a server, because loading the second world would crash it. You can still visit Caves by joining a server hosted on a more powerful device. Check your phone's RAM before buying if hosting Caves solo matters to you, since devices such as the iPhone 13 fall on the wrong side of this line.
Will Don't Starve Together run on my phone?+
You need an iPhone or iPad with an A12 chip or newer on iOS 15.6 or later, or an Android phone with at least 4 GB of RAM. Playdigious's support page says Android 10, while Google Play lists Android 8.0. Some Android devices and GPUs are excluded from sale. On iOS, Playdigious warns that the iPhone XR, iPhone SE (2nd generation) and several older iPads may freeze or crash, and says it cannot refund iOS players itself. If you use one of those devices, request an Apple refund quickly if it fails.
Can Don't Starve Together be played offline or alone on mobile?+
Yes, alone. Choose Host Game, set the player count to one and select Local Only; solo worlds can also auto-pause in menus. Google Play tags the game as offline-capable, and several players report playing without a connection. Hosting and joining normally start from a signed-in Klei account, however, and Playdigious's known-issues list says skins and premium characters are not available offline. Try a Local Only session in airplane mode at home before relying on it while traveling.
Is Don't Starve Together mobile the same as Don't Starve: Pocket Edition?+
No. Don't Starve: Pocket Edition is Klei's older single-player port, still sold separately for $4.99 on the US App Store. Don't Starve Together is Playdigious's newer $9.99 port of the multiplayer game, and its trailer and logo also use the Pocket Edition name. Buy Don't Starve Together if you want co-op, current content or skill trees. The older app is the cheaper solo option for older hardware.
Store snapshot
What players are rating
United States snapshot, : The US App Store showed a 4.2 rating from 402 ratings, number 18 in its Adventure chart, a Games We Love editorial placement and version 1.2.3. US Google Play showed a 4.2 rating from about 2,880 reviews, a 10,000+ downloads bracket, an Offline gameplay tag and an update dated September 16, 2026. These interest signals guided coverage and did not affect the review score.
Your next step
Price and download
Checked September 23, 2026 on the US stores: $9.99 upfront on both the App Store and Google Play, with no free trial on either. Google Play lists optional in-app purchases from $2.99 to $49.99 per item; the App Store lists in-app purchases without itemized prices on its current page. Playdigious says those purchases buy Bolts, a currency for cosmetic items and character collections. The $8.99 launch discount ended July 28, 2026. Owning the game on PC or console does not unlock the mobile version. Local prices and taxes vary by country.
Regional store note: Listed on both reference stores on . Games Ranker uses this consistent baseline for comparison; use the store links to see availability, pricing, size, and requirements in your region.
