- Games
- Bellwright
Bellwright
A slow medieval survival game where up to four friends grow one village and push back against the Crown.
Online co-op for up to 4 players. No crossplay.
- 4 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op4 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- NoSame platform onlyFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- Not confirmedA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckUnsupportedValve's own rating
About the game
You are an exile who comes home to a land ruled by the Crown. You start with nothing, gather wood and stone, and build a camp that grows into a village. Villagers move in and take over jobs like mining, farming, crafting and guarding. Winter stops the crops, and bandit raids get bigger as your village does.
Up to four of you can play online. One player hosts a save and the others join it. A pair can split the work, with one of you chasing quests and fights while the other runs farms and villagers. Combat is directional, so you choose where each swing and block goes, and flanking an enemy together works well.
The pace is slow and the first hours are rough, so it suits patient groups who like planning a settlement. It is still in early access on Steam, and the maker is still patching co-op bugs.
How it feels
Kind of game
One lasting world your group settles. You gather, build and push into dangerous places together.
- At its heart
- A big part
- Now and then
- Story
- Working in sync
- Getting better
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
Rated on our own feel scale. 6 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Bellwright
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Medieval Dynasty
Why it scores 94%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Settlement building and Wilderness survival
- Notable in both
- Calm and coziness, Time to hang out, Planning ahead, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op for up to 4 players
- 4 online
- Crossplay
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about building settlements and surviving in the wild. Both have long calm stretches.
No big difference from Bellwright.
Soulmask
Why it scores 94%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Settlement building and Wilderness survival
- Notable in both
- Calm and coziness, Time to hang out, Exploring, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- Online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both let you build things together. Both are about building settlements and surviving in the wild.
No big difference from Bellwright.
Avorion
Why it scores 85%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- Notable in both
- Calm and coziness, Time to hang out, Exploring, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- Online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are easy to play while you chat. Both have long calm stretches.
No big difference from Bellwright.
All co-op facts
Last checked 28 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
Steam sells the base game for $29.99 and lists no demo. Sales and subscriptions do not make it free.
- 345
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay between
- Does not apply
- Friends can join mid-game
- Not confirmed
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Sources
18 pages
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 28 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Online co-op, Platforms, Release status, Release date.
- Online co-op: Categories include Co-op and Online Co-op.
- Platforms: Backs windows only. Steam lists no Mac or Linux build.
- Release status: Genres include Early Access.
- Release date: Steam shows Apr 23, 2024, the day early access began.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 28 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Unsupported on Steam Deck.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 28 October 2026
Backs Release status, Free base co-op, Kind of game, About, Exploring, Building and creating, Fighting, Unlocks and progress, Planning ahead.
- Release status: The page carries the Early Access box. The developer says it expects full release within three years of launch.
- Free base co-op: Steam sells the base game for $29.99 and lists no demo. Sales and subscriptions do not make it free.
- Kind of game: Tags include Survival, Open World, Building and Online Co-Op. The text has you gather, build and run a growing settlement.
- About: Key features cover surviving in a harsh world and managing towns. Tags include Survival and City Builder.
- Exploring: Tags include Open World and Exploration. The text has you search the land for its secrets.
- Building and creating: Key features say you build, manage and upgrade outposts and towns with your recruits. Tags include Building and Crafting.
- Fighting: Key features list skill-based directional combat and army command.
- Unlocks and progress: Key features list a deep progression of your skills, your soldiers and recruits who bring new knowledge.
- Planning ahead: Key features list resource and town management and commanding squads and formations.
xbox.comStore page, read 28 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Platforms, Crossplay, Free base co-op.
- Most players online: Lists online co-op for 2 to 4 players. No maker page states the number in words, so this page and the PlayStation page are the source.
- Platforms: Covers Xbox Series X|S and PC.
- Crossplay: Lists Xbox cross-platform co-op, which looks like a general Xbox feature badge. The maker says crossplay between platforms is still to come, so the maker wins.
- Free base co-op: Sold for $29.99 when checked.
store.playstation.comStore page, read 28 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Platforms, Free base co-op.
- Most players online: Says it supports up to 4 online players with PS Plus.
- Platforms: Shows a PS5 edition only, released 2026-06-09.
- Free base co-op: Sold for $29.99 when checked.
playbellwright.comOfficial site, read 28 October 2026
Backs Platforms.
- Platforms: Links only to the Steam, Xbox and PlayStation stores.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Platforms, Crossplay, Release status.
- Platforms: Post of 2026-06-09 says the game is now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
- Crossplay: Post of 2026-06-09 says crossplay is in active development and due later this year.
- Release status: Post speaks of the game stepping into early access two years earlier and announces no full release.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Platforms, Crossplay.
- Online co-op: Post of 2026-07-03, edited 2026-07-04, says co-op is supported on PlayStation 5 and now also on Xbox Series X|S and Microsoft Store.
- Platforms: Names PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Microsoft Store as editions with co-op.
- Crossplay: Says crossplay is the next big thing, still needs certification by Microsoft and Sony and has no date.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Release status.
- Release status: Post of 2026-08-20 promises news on a release date, but gives none. Steam still shows the Early Access box.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Online co-op.
- Online co-op: Hotfix of 2026-09-15 fixes a critical issue that blocked access to co-op on some platforms, so co-op is live on the console editions.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Online co-op.
- Online co-op: Hotfix of 2026-10-06 fixes a client losing connection to the host, so one player hosts and the others join as clients.
playbellwright.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026
Backs Release date.
- Release date: Post of 2025-04-23 says exactly one year ago the game was released into early access.
wikidata.orgWikidata, read 28 October 2026
Backs Wikidata item, Genres, Release date.
- Genres: P136 is survival sandbox video game, role-playing video game and simulation video game.
- Release date: P577 is 2024-04-23 for Windows, qualified as early access, and 2026-06-09 for the console editions.
roundtablecoop.comPress, read 28 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, About, Working in sync, Exploring, Time to hang out.
- Kind of game: Review of 2024-05-01 played in co-op. The pair build one village, gather, hunt and take on bandits together.
- About: Describes setting up a village and defending it from bandit raids that grow with it.
- Working in sync: The pair did separate tasks while quest updates showed on both screens. Flanking an enemy together worked much better than fighting alone.
- Exploring: Describes a vast map with different biomes, points of interest and bandit camps.
- Time to hang out: The pair enjoyed exploring, hunting and building up the village without rushing into fights.
bitsnpixels.orgPress, read 28 October 2026
Backs Working in sync, Planning ahead, Building and creating, Unlocks and progress, About.
- Working in sync: Review of 2025-02-03 by a couple. Renown from questing buys villagers and research needs villagers, so the two jobs feed each other.
- Planning ahead: The reviewer plans worker jobs and resource flow and compares the game to Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress.
- Building and creating: One player spends most of their time on the settlement and its systems.
- Unlocks and progress: Describes research tiers and better recruits. The couple nearly finished the tech tree in 35 hours.
- About: Winters stop crops and bring famine and frostbite, and the game is about growing a village.
gamesasylum.comPress, read 28 October 2026
Backs Sessions, Tension and danger, Calm and coziness, Story, Getting better, Exploring, Fighting, Unlocks and progress.
- Sessions: Review of 2026-06-19 says the main quest alone takes 100 hours or more and the game needs weeks or months of play.
- Tension and danger: Says a raid threatens the settlement about every couple of hours, with a warning first, and that early fights ended in instant death.
- Calm and coziness: Calls it a slow burner. A day lasts about an hour and winters make food scarce.
- Story: Says the storyline barely moved in twenty hours of play.
- Getting better: Says there is little tutorial help and the combat basics came from trial and error.
- Exploring: Says the map is huge, with towns, fishing cabins, taverns and marked areas of interest.
- Fighting: Says clearing bandit camps is a regular quest requirement.
- Unlocks and progress: Describes a large research tree, skill books and followers that can be kitted out.
thesixthaxis.comPress, read 28 October 2026
Backs Getting better, Fighting.
- Getting better: Review of 2026-07-07 says the early game is a long grind rather than a test of skill.
- Fighting: Compares the directional combat to Mount & Blade and says villagers can fight for you once they are geared.
finalboss.ioPress, read 28 October 2026
Backs Building and creating, Planning ahead.
- Building and creating: Article updated 2026-06-25 says the settlement is the game.
- Planning ahead: Says it suits players who like management and long-term planning.