Guide
What is Poke Survivor?
The window above loads the official game at pokesurvivor.com, so you can play PokeSurvivor online right here, free and with no download.
Poke Survivor is a survivors-like: hordes of wild Pokémon close in, you dodge, and your partner fights for you. The itch.io page sums it up as "You only move: your partner Pokémon attacks automatically." It is made by the developer jpter78 as a non-profit fan project. It is not affiliated with Nintendo, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company, and the only official site is pokesurvivor.com.
The creator writes the name with an accent, but most players type Poke Survivor or PokeSurvivor, and some simply search for "pokemon survivor". Whatever the spelling, it is the same PokeSurvivor game in your browser. Each run is a mix of steering, picking level-up cards and reading enemy attacks. Since the 2026-10-13 update, runs are endless: at minute 30 Arceus descends and the challenge continues, so the goal is simply to last as long as you can.
If you have played Vampire Survivors, the shape will feel familiar, but one rule changes everything: you can carry up to four moves, and only the active one fires. A Poke Survivor run is less about stacking weapons and more about picking the right move for the moment and switching to it.
What makes Poke Survivor unique?
966 Pokémon from 9 regions
Kanto to Paldea, and every one can become your partner, per the official Pokédex. Browse them all in the official Pokédex.
29 starters
The starters of all 9 generations plus Psyduck and Slowpoke. We compare them in our starter rankings.
Online co-op for up to 4 players
Through your friends list (an account is needed).
No download
It runs in the browser, and you can install it with "Add to Home Screen".
Free, with no ads or purchases
Gacha tickets for new partners cannot be bought.
English and Spanish only
There is no official Chinese version; our Traditional Chinese guide is a fan help page.
Play it in your browser
Getting a Poke Survivor run going takes about a minute. Use the window above, or the "Open in full window" link if you want a bigger screen. On your first run an 8-question personality quiz suggests a starter, and you can turn it down and pick another. Guests can play right away; sign in if you want cloud saves, leaderboards and co-op.
The controls fit in one sentence: move with WASD or the arrow keys on PC, or drag anywhere on a touch screen, and switch the active move with 1–4 or Q/E (or tap it). Esc pauses. For the full controls table, the level-up card loop and move evolutions, read our guide on how to play PokeSurvivor.
How a run unfolds
Every Poke Survivor run follows the same rhythm, and each part of it has its own fan guide on this site:
- The opening minutes. Defeated enemies drop experience orbs, and each level-up offers 3 cards: a new move, an upgrade or a stat boost. Which starter you take matters less than you think, but our best starter Pokémon picks explain the easy ones.
- Bosses every 3 minutes. Strong non-legendary Pokémon arrive at minutes 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15, with telegraphed attacks you need to step out of.
- Legendary rifts. From 1:15, portals can open on the map. Walk in and you get 2 minutes to beat a legendary in one of 18 type arenas. Our legendary rifts guide covers when they open and what you win.
- Minute 30 and beyond. Arceus descends and takes you to the Ruins of Judgment, where legendaries keep joining in. From here it is about how long you last.
- Friends. All of the above works in a group of up to four. See our co-op guide for playing with friends.
Want to know which starters and moves hold up across all of this? Our partner tier list ranks them with the numbers behind each pick.
Partners, gacha and achievements
Your first partner comes from the quiz. Everyone else joins through a ticket gacha with 9 region banners, one for each region from Kanto to Paldea. You earn tickets by playing: regular Pokémon drop them now and then, and bosses and rift legendaries sometimes drop a ×10 ticket, per the official guide. Tickets can't be bought with real money, so it pays to know which gacha partners are worth chasing. Shiny Pokémon show up in the wild at 1 in 4096.
Between runs you spend PokéCoins on permanent upgrades for each Pokémon. One of them, called Repertoire, lets that partner start a run with 2 moves instead of 1. There are also 127 achievements to chase, plus Solo and Group leaderboards ranked by how long you survive. The sprites are in the Mystery Dungeon style, from the community SpriteCollab project. That long-term progression is what keeps Poke Survivor going after the first few runs: every session earns something, even a short one.
Recent updates
The game is updated often. A few recent changes from the official news page:
- 2026-10-08: new enemy types that heal, shield, summon or explode.
- 2026-10-12: runs became endless. At minute 30 Arceus descends and takes you to the Ruins of Judgment, where legendaries keep joining in.
- 2026-10-14: touch updates: drag attacks, a pause button, a joystick that appears anywhere, and an optional fixed joystick.
Because Poke Survivor changes quickly, we date every guide and check it against the official pages. If a number on our site disagrees with the game, trust the game.
Is it safe and free?
Yes, as far as money goes. The developer describes Poke Survivor as free and non-profit, with no ads or purchases. You never need to download an installer, and there is no app-store app in any official source, so be wary of anything claiming to be one. To put it on your phone, open pokesurvivor.com and use "Add to Home Screen"; the web manifest opens it full-screen in landscape.
For Poke Survivor co-op, the official site notes that connections are browser-to-browser (like a video call), so teammates may see your IP address. Play with people you know. There is also an offline HTML5 package on itch.io, but it is solo only and saves in your browser; co-op, cloud saves and leaderboards are online at pokesurvivor.com only.
Guides
Pick your next PokeSurvivor guide
How to play
Controls for PC and touch, the level-up card loop and move evolutions.
Best starter Pokémon
Our picks among the 29 starters, and which ones make the first runs easy.
Partner tier list
Starters and moves ranked, with the numbers behind each pick.
Legendary rifts
When rifts open from 1:15, the 18 type arenas and what you win.
Co-op with friends
Online runs for up to four players through your friends list.
Traditional Chinese guide
A Traditional Chinese fan help page for the English-only game.
Common questions about the game
Is Poke Survivor an official Pokémon game?
No. It is a fan game by jpter78, not made or endorsed by Nintendo, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company.
Can I play it on my phone?
Yes, in the browser, in landscape. Drag anywhere to move and tap a move to switch. Our mobile guide (Traditional Chinese) covers touch play in detail.
How many players can play together?
Up to four in online co-op. Everyone shares XP, and a downed player can be revived by standing next to them for 3 seconds.
Which languages does the game support?
English and Spanish. The Spanish version lives at pokesurvivor.com without the /en/ path.
Is "pokemon survivor" a different game?
The phrase is generic, and other projects may use it. On this site it means PokéSurvivor at pokesurvivor.com, the only one our guides cover.