
THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
Prices
Each in the currency that store quoted — not converted: the gap between two rows is the publisher's pricing, not an exchange rate.
Charts
Each storefront's own chart, in its own country — the closest public signal to sales where none is published. A country missing from a list is one we don't collect there, not one where the game doesn't chart.
No United States chart position — it charts only in the markets below.
Latest in each market: best RU #72, worst KR #81 · 2 markets collected
Discounts
Every price cut of more than 20% we have observed, in each market that quoted one, with this game's chart position on either side of it. These are episodes, not a model: a sale is one event, and one event cannot tell you what the next one will do.
Reviews, worldwide (the counter carries no country): 14.71/day in the week to Sep 1 → 21.57/day in the week after.
About


Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive?
Welcome to THE LONG DARK, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre".

THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.
In THE LONG DARK, you are getting both the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates, and the award-winning episodic narrative mode, WINTERMUTE.

THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE brings you the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates. Widely considered the paramount Survival game of all time, SURVIVAL MODE gives you pure focus on THE LONG DARK’s Survival Sandbox -- the experience that started it all!


Included with both THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE and THE LONG DARK, Survival Mode is the free-form, non-narrative Survival Sandbox that has defined the genre since launching on Steam in 2014. After years of open development and dozens of major updates, THE LONG DARK now stands at the pinnacle of the entire genre. Survival is your only goal, and death your only end. Make your own survival story with every game.

The game that defined death for the survival genre. When you die in Survival, your save is deleted. Every decision matters.

The game challenges players to think for themselves by providing the information but never the answers. You have to earn the right to survive.

Monitor your Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue, and Cold as you struggle to balance resources with the energy needed to obtain them. Every action costs Calories, and time is your most precious resource. Choose your path carefully.

Over 100 gear items including Tools, Light Sources, Weapons, First Aid supplies, Clothing, and more.

Explore a 50+ square kilometer Northern Canadian wilderness spanning 12 major regions and all the zones that connect them in search of life-saving supplies. Distant mountains, coastal towns, mines, farmlands, and a huge expanse of brutal winter wilderness to test your survival mettle.

Hunt, fish, trap, climb, map, search for life-saving food and gear items, and try to avoid dying from the hostile wildlife, succumbing to hypothermia, frostbite, or dysentery (amongst other uncomfortable afflictions), find and maintain your life-saving gear. Hunt and be hunted by: Wolves, Bears, Moose, Rabbits, Deers, Crows, and more to come in future updates.

Four distinct Experience Modes let you find a challenge level you are comfortable with, such as Pilgrim Mode, which is meant to be quiet and pensive, all the way to Interloper Mode, where only the most experienced survivors have a chance to last a week. If none of the four Experiences suits you, use Custom Mode settings to tailor your Survival Mode game to your specific tastes.
Features the music of Sascha Dikiciyan.

Several standalone Challenge Modes offer objective-based experiences designed to last 1-3 hours each, such as Whiteout -- the race to gather enough supplies to prepare for a monster blizzard. Or Hunted, where you need to escape a murderous Bear. Complete them to unlock Feats that provide long-term gameplay benefits in Survival Mode. Additional Challenges include: Hopeless Rescue, Nomad, Archivist, As the Dead Sleep, and Escape the Darkwalker.

Included in THE LONG DARK The episodic story-mode for THE LONG DARK, WINTERMUTE, includes four of the five episodes that form WINTERMUTE. Episode Five is in development, and is slated for release at a later date. This will bring the WINTERMUTE storyline to its conclusion.
The first four episodes of WINTERMUTE represent approximately 30 hours of gameplay. Episode Five is included in the price of the game, and will be unlocked for free when it is released.


Bush pilot Will Mackenzie (player character) and Dr. Astrid Greenwood are separated after their plane crashes deep in the Northern Canadian wilderness in the aftermath of a mysterious flash of light in the sky. Struggling to survive as he desperately searches for Astrid, Mackenzie comes across the small town of Milton, where he begins to understand the scope of this quiet apocalypse.

Mackenzie’s search for Astrid takes him deeper into the savage Winter wilderness. A mysterious trapper may be the key to finding Astrid, but can he be trusted?

In the aftermath of events in Milton, an enigmatic stranger rescues Dr. Astrid Greenwood (player character) from near death. Facing the blizzards of Pleasant Valley, Astrid must bring all her skills as a doctor to bear on the survivors she encounters. But will she find Mackenzie, and get closer to the mystery that's taking them to Perseverance Mills?

A murderous gang of convicts has captured Mackenzie. Desperate to escape one of the darkest corners of Great Bear Island, he must somehow survive his fiercest enemy yet. Can Mackenzie recover the Hardcase, continue his search for Astrid, and also save the innocents caught up in this deadly confrontation?
NOTE: Unlike Survival Mode, WINTERMUTE does not feature permadeath. You can save your progress as you play.
Features performances by Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, David Hayter, and Elias Toufexis (Episode Three), and the music of Cris Velasco.


In addition to releasing the remaining episode of WINTERMUTE, we intend to continue updating Survival Mode with limited free updates alongside our paid DLC Expansion Pass, TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY. This is on top of the over 100 updates we have made to the game over the past 8 years of open development. Keep in mind that your purchase of THE LONG DARK entitles you to all five episodes of WINTERMUTE without extra charge. For more information about the free updates coming to Survival Mode, please visit the Expansion Pass roadmap via our "Visit the website" link on the right of the page.



Hinterland is an independent video game developer and IP creator headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Established in 2012 by game director & writer, Raphael van Lierop, Hinterland is a multi-ethnic, international team united around a singular goal: to create thought-provoking, story-rich entertainment experiences set in compelling original worlds.
Our fictional settings -- our IP -- are conceived from the ground up to exist across multiple mediums. We believe that when people love a world, they want to experience it across as many platforms as possible.
Hinterland's first IP, THE LONG DARK, first launched on Steam Early Access on September 2014. The game's multi-platform 1.0 launched on August 2017. Today, THE LONG DARK has more than 10-million players around the world.
We aim for our games to foster a sense of social awareness, and we aspire to provide immersive, sophisticated worlds for anyone seeking a mature entertainment experience.
Join us on our journey.
Add-ons
Each DLC is estimated with the same model as a game, then summed — a modeled figure, not reported DLC sales.
Sums Steam only; Xbox, PlayStation, Epic, Nintendo publish no volume signal, so the true total is higher by an unknown amount.
| Store | Price | Audience | Score | Chart | Est. revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SteamYou are here | $19.99 | 123.8Kreviews | 89% | — | $58.8M |
| $34.99 | 18.4Kratings | 86% | — | not modelled | |
Updates
Build ids and update times come straight from Steam's PICS — the same source SteamDB reads. Patch history grows as we record new builds.
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 1679 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
SPOILER WARNING for the campaign Truly one of my favorite games, the survival is a unique experience that's well worth your time. I've played this game for years on different consoles without regret, and recommend it wholeheartedly for people who want a game that understands how to generate suspense through gameplay. Key thing for enjoying the game, don't look behind the curtains, understanding ways to exploit the faults in the game remove much of the joy for average players. Unfortunately the final episode of the campaign can be summed up in 3 phrases. Game of thrones final season level of incoherence. Marvel style dependency on cameo characters. Politics being inserted with the subtlety of a sledgehammer lobotomy. Its not that the ending was bad, but it almost seems the writers of this episode hadn't played nor participated with the creation of the game prior to writing the episode. Mackenzie who has proven himself the self sacrificing fool ends up working in collaboration with the prisoners who by this point have murdered dozens of people and have threatened death upon his loved ones. I guess Mackenzie forgot his permit for not being murdered or being used as a slave. "Ope sorry aboot bruising your knuckles with my face as you threaten my ex wife with violent murder." "Sure is inconvenient your shooting at me and my friend, oh no I wont use this hatchet in my hands to defend myself. Im a Canadian afterall dontcha know." Also Mackenzie "sure do love murdering a wounded man Ive never met in my life 20 minutes after a plane crash." "Nothing quite like watching the lights in a mans eyes fade as I choke him into oblivion" (final episode) Furthermore, non main characters are outright stacking bodies and killing people with comparable happiness to a character from sesame street. Speaking of side characters, the final episode re-inserts characters into the story just so conveniently Marvel endgame style. The political insert should have been handled with subtlety, saying the point outload shows the writers are assuming the players have the mental complexity of a goldfish. Moral incoherence aside, the great mystery of wintermute, the aurora, and the mysterious animal behaviors were all executed to a degree that's truly phenomenal. 10/10 in that aspect, and the way they explain the exposition was truly unique. Overall Id rate the survival with a 9/10, and the campaign with a 6.5/10. If not for the issues on the final episode Id have rated it 8.5/10 or very likely higher. Try and add some moral coherence to the next game please, if your going to want people to condemn violence even in self defense then condemn violence. If your going to make the case for the use of force under extreme situations and as a last resort then keep that message from start to finish. Have some faith in your fans ability to understand complex moral situations including discrimination.
Media

Related
Related
Price dynamics, follower growth, revenue and sales trajectories with interactive tooltips
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Every market we collect.
For scale, across Steam · Top Sellers · Brazil over the last 30 days: the 25 chart moves that followed a price cut of more than 20% went a median of 10 places towards #1, and the 2,413 moves with no price cut behind them went 2 away. One store, one chart, one country — it is the only place we have enough observations to say even that.
Prices outside the United States have been collected since 6 August 2026 and chart positions since 19 July 2026, so a cut older than that has no market to compare and a market that joined later has no history yet. Nothing here is converted between currencies.
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English*, German, Russian, French, Spanish - Spain, Finnish, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese - Portugal, Simplified Chinese, Swedish +7 more
| $34.99 |
| 10.9Kratings |
| 88% |
| — |
| not modelled |
| $34.99 | — | — | — | $0 |
| $34.99 | — | — | — | not modelled |
Matched by title — a reused name can pair the wrong games. * is a critic aggregate. Prices and positions are each store's United States storefront; Epic charts worldwide. Audience and Score too, except Steam's, which is worldwide.
Hours played at review time, across 1.7K reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
I started playing this game years ago, way back when storymode is not a thing. the story for episode 1 and 2 was really cool back then, it was really good. 3 and 4 was great too, but they stopped as "personal beef" between a group of convicts and some people trying hard to survive. Then episode 5 came, it was my most waited thing, i was so hyped for it, i bought this game on steam just to pay the dev some tribute. Turns out this episode has the most ♥♥♥♥ story ive ever played, devs said they need time to polish things, trying to deliver us the greatest experience, a grand boom. nah nah they are lying. So so so many plot holes, from personal beefs all of a sudden expanded to a worldwide threat, molly and jeremiah all of a sudden appear in the scene, you yourself have a shotgun, a rifle, a revoler, a ballistic vest, basically a walking armory, then boom all of your stuff disappear in the final bits. devs really dont want us to kill the convicts, then someone we walk straight back to the lion's den to make a message that you arent sure if it will goes out or not. Reason? to have that tear jerking final scene between astrid and mackenzie (its so ass it just turned me off completely) So many bugs unfixed in the story, so many unjustified "take away your stuffs". Atp i wont even buy TLD2 or Blackfrost, so many delay just to be served slop. So much slop i have to went out of my way to write a review. PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG ATP.
Episode 4 was genuinely some of the worst story gameplay I've ever had to slog through. Besides being narratively all over the place, obsessing over one character who they are gassing up to be hitler, and STILL NOT EXPLAINING ANY STORY, the actual gameplay is just so horrifically bad it felt like a chore to beat it. I really enjoyed the first three episodes since it gave you actual freedom to roam and explore mechanics of the game, but here comes chapter 4 with 8 canyons forcing you to take a bridge and stay on the path marked on the maps otherwise have fun either save scumming or finding the mountaineering ropes that are randomly placed on the map. If I wanted to sit around and get ♥♥♥♥ on for what felt like 30 hours I would just tell someone to step on my balls with stilettos and be done with it. I think the devs and writers took inspiration from the worst part of chapter 3 (plane section) and decided to base the entirety of chapter 4 around it and it really shows. I can't imagine that the survival mode is any better either as surviving in the story was not difficult whatsoever.
It is with a heavy heart, after following TLD for years and years, that I give this review. I've played many a survival scenario, and waited patiently and faithfully through the egregiously long development and release of the Wintermute story. Episode 5 was the worst written story and most poorly executed linear gameplay I've ever endured. There were some ups and downs with previous episodes but as they were updated and honed I mostly enjoyed them and was committed to the series. As many have said, episode 4 had me a bit nervous with the direction they were going, but I still had hope. With the release of the final episode, it left such a bad taste in my mouth that it honestly ruined much of the nostalgia I had for the series as a whole. There is so much to criticize, from the awful nonsensical writing and abysmal attempt to wrap up the lore, the down right insulting and lazy gameplay loops, or the absolutely butchered mechanics in order to force story progression. It was so bad that I don't believe Hinterland deserves any loyalty from existing fans for their future story-based releases and in fact must build our trust from scratch. Apart from Wintermute, there's survival mode... Back when this game was launched, it felt unique and intriguing and it was genuinely fun, although punishing, to survive the land alone and build up resources. Having played it again recently, I do not believe even the survival mode has aged well and in fact is no longer relevant. It was fun back in the day but has lost it's appeal, at least for myself, even without the stain of Episode 5. As I have grown older, there are simply far better survival games these days worth the precious time I have available. That all not to mention they continue to milk survival with objectively over-priced and lackluster DLCs, and the optimization is still bellow average. All in all, I think The Long Dark is a relic of it's time and I believe this series truly needs to be laid to rest for good. It's been long... too long. I honestly wish Episode 5 had never been released, as it would have at least allowed the game to die with a fond memory in my mind but instead they resurrected my interest only to kill my joyful memories and turn my back on the game for good, unable to recommend it to anyone moving forward.
I played Survival mode and Wintermute chapters 1-4 with enjoyment. Difficult, but a good, challenging survival game. The story made it feel more real and gave surviving purpose. I was looking forward to the Long Dark 2.0 which had been announced by the time I finished chapter 4 and I was chomping at the bit for chapter 5. Then Chapter 5 came out after a long wait. I've never been so bored and annoyed at the same time. Ridiculous dialog and story beats... so bad it was comical, from "we need to split up" at a time where working together would be essential to "let's stand out in the open and discuss it while people are shooting at us". Boring, trivial game mechanics - turning on lights, cranking wheels, and little else. Not being able to rest up before the next big thing which requires rest because no beds are usable. Inventory resetting between sections - end a section fully equipped, start the next one without a weapon. Losing hours of progress loading an old save because you don't realize you've done something irreversibly out of order until it's too late. The 30-minute lore dump near the end broke my spirit. I only continued out of pride and stubbornness. This is what happens when you move your best folks to the new project and let the interns and new-hires finish up the previous one without adult supervision.
The final chapter of the story force you joining a gang of criminals who burns schools with innocent people and children inside. I do not support that writing and there is no way to justify burning kids alive.
День 1. Леса-леса. Как я тут оказалася? В кармане ничего кроме походной аптечки, одежка теплая, но от ветра не защитит, тихо падает снег. Куда идти? Решать только мне. День 3. Несказанно повезло. В домике лесничего нашлись сухпайки и дровишки, а самое ценное - патроны для винтовки. Но это еще не везение. Везение поджидало меня через пару километров, в уютном домике охотника на заснеженной опушке. В лице потрясающего охотничьего ружья и целого склада припасов. День 5. Начинает нравиться так жить. Из 12 пуль потратил 3. Мяса трех оленей хватит на неделю. Из кишок смастерил капканы и установил неподалеку, повезет - будет дополнительный источник питания в лице кроликов. День 10. Живеться хорошо, запасся дровами впрок, каждый вечер топлю снег и кипячу воду, ем аппетитную оленью отбивную. Это точно симулятор выживания? День 12. Смастерил себе сапоги из оленьей кожи. Греют как очаг. Проверил ловушки - вскоре сшил себе перчатки из кроличьей шкуры. Начинаю задумываться о куртке из волчьих шкур. День 20. Охота на волков оказалась простой - в отличии от оленей эти глупые животные даже не стремятся убегать - так и лезут на пулю. Новая куртка готова - теперь хоть в метель, все равно не замерзну. День 22. Совершил вылазку на Озеро. Собрал патроны, пайки а главное - пару баночек сугщёнки. Жизнь сладка. День 26. Еле успел доесть мясо, пока не испортилось. Буду пытаться выжить на одних кроликах. День 27. Многие капканы порушены, кроликов все меньше. По пути к дому подрал волк. К счастью, заражения раны удалось избежать. Аптечка заметно полегчала. День 30. Охота не удалась. Истратил 5 пуль и подстрелил всего одного оленя. Кажется, расслабился. Осталось 4 пули. День 32. Планирую поход на дамбу. Путь не близкий, но оно должно того стоить. День 33. Поход удался. Частично. Принес домой полтора литра керосина, кучу материалов для починки снаряжения а главное - десяток пуль. Правда, ночевать пишлось "в поле". На утро был погрызен волком. Скоро могут кончаться бинты. День 34. Перехожу на "кроличий рацион". День 36. Сходил в лагерь лесорубов что за перевалом. По пути домой попал в метель, заблудился, блуждал по кругу несколько часов. Чуть не подхватил обморожение. Одежки спасли. Зато притащил домой пару пачек чая. Будет чем согреться во вьюгу. День 40. Капканы снова поломаны, новых нет. Пора браться за винтовку. День 50. Ездец подкрался незаметно. Осталось 3 пули, все что можно было съесть - съедено. Пора отправлятся дальше. День 52. Подготовления завершены. Одежда заштопана, топорик и нож заточены, лапма полностью заправлена, все что можно было забрать - забрал. Прощай, мой милый дом! День 54. Путь прошел без приключений. Добрался до новых мест. Похоже на автомагистраль у бухты. Решил обустроиться в небольшом домике на островке неподалеку от берега. День 55. Разведывая окрестности и собирая припасы, нашел убежище получше. Надо будет переселиться. День 57. Усмешно переселился. Воды, еды и дров хватит на пару дней. Но стоит обыскать ближайшие дома и главное - ГЗС. Выглядит многообещающе. Правда, волков в округе многовато. Мигрируют, чтоле... День 58. Закончил обыск ГЗС. Ресурсов уйма! Как раз на "юбилей". Не дойдя до дома 20 метров, столкунлся с волком. Не испугавшись ружья он медленно двинулся на меня... Жаба задушила пулю тратить. Принял на нож. Не особо удачно, обильное кровотечение вкупе со сломанным ребром. Но волк мертв, до дома 20 метров, а там - спасительная аптечка. О том, что до паптечки я не добурсь мне сообщил низкий рык за спиной. Все было кончено. Спустя секунду клыки вцыпились мне в шею, снег окропило кровью... Видя, как волк терзает мой еще теплый труп, я горько жалел, что маленький еврей во мне зажал спасительную пулю. Жадность фраера сгубила. Именно так. А теперь... теперь пора провести работу над ошибками и попробовать выжить в этих диких лесах еще раз. 10 / 10 ✅ Рекомендую ✅
The appeal of The Long Dark is in the management of your food, water, and clothing while travelling by landmark. When you reach shelter during a storm, the feeling is extremely cozy. Why thumbs down? This is the worst told story I've seen in my life. I play the survival mode a lot and its really good. The store page for The Long Dark is mostly about their story mode and I want you to have reasonable expectations about what that looks like. There are five chapters. Chapter 1 is very good and serves as a well-paced tutorial. Chapters 2 and 3 aren't as fun, but the gameplay is pretty close to what you'll find in survival mode. Once premise of the disaster is that electricity doesn't work unless there's an aurora making everything go haywire. Beginning in chapter 3, electricity will somehow work consistently when the plot calls for it. The wheels fall off the bus in chapter 4. All manner of electrical things will consistently work for plot reasons. [spoiler] Phones, powered doors, security cameras... [/spoiler] And the story even gives you the equivalent of a [spoiler] hacker girl [/spoiler] to help you through the dangers you face. Chapter 5 is a B-movie. Imagine a scene. There is a bad guy shooting at a protagonist who walks toward him at a slow pace. The bad guy misses every shot. The protagonist slaps the bad guy, then turns around and walks away at the same pace while the bad guy continues shooting and missing every shot until the protagonist is out of view. A similar, worse scene exists in chapter 5. If you play The Long Dark's story, you will notice from chapter 1 that every character is lobotomized and cannot give a straight answer to any question. Ever. Despite the life or death reality of the situation, no one feels any need to be understood. Your character also doesn't seem to have any need to understand why he is doing what he is doing. You're all like ant-people or something. It is also conspicuous that no character makes a calculated decision ever. Every thing a character ever does is motivated by their relationship to other people. "Oh you're my [i] blank [/i] so I'll do what you say." Or "You know, [i] blank? [/i] This changes everything. I had better do [i] blank! [/i]" The dialogue was written by aliens who have only seen humans on TV. So you should just get the survival mode, right? Well... if you start up survival mode, you'll spawn on the ground somewhere without explanation. You'll wander around in the cold until the first wolf you encounter kills you or puts you into a doom state. Without chapter 1 or 2, you will not know how to meaningfully engage with the game world. You'll have to go on Youtube and do homework. The Long Dark's appeal is just not that broad. I have three friends on Steam who have played this game. One played for 10 hours and the other two played for less than 1. If you are interested in it, I highly encourage you to watch gameplay with commentary of the survival mode in particular. Because most of this game is walking long distances and stopping to cook or sew clothes.
last chapter is a garbage. developers wasted years for ♥♥♥♥♥♥ locations. geolocation sucks. if you stay on the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rock it's a fragile ice, fcking unskipable cutscenes, scripted bear. Try to play your own game. I wish I could refund. You were in early access for years and still it feels like you don't event know how physics works.
Maybe I don't understand this but I played it for 3 hours it was extremely bored. It's like a walking simulator mixed with open world hardcore survival and it's as horrible as that sounds
Active players
Estimated daily and monthly active players (DAU/MAU) modeled from peak concurrency.
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Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
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The games this title's players most often review too — audience affinity.
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