PCGame

Alien Swarm

Free top-down co-op shooter with marine classes and squad tactics

Valve · Released Jul 19, 2010

ActionFree To Play

Reviews
Very Positive
94% of 23K
Recent reviews
Very Positive
91% of 34 in 30 days
Players
9
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Playable
Last update on Steam
6 years ago
Sep 24, 2020
Minimum PC
DirectX 9 GPU
1 GB RAM · 2.5 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 77/100 (critic reviews)

What is Alien Swarm?

Alien Swarm is a free top-down shooter set in an off-world colony overrun by aliens. In missions, marine squads choose from four classes, equip weapons and gear, and clear aliens from the icy surface and an underground mining facility.

For you if...

  • +you enjoy class-based top-down shooting with squad tactics
  • +you like replaying missions at higher difficulty settings

Not for you if...

  • −you prefer first-person aiming to a top-down view
  • −you prefer playing alone to working with a squad

What players say

94% of 23,255 reviews are positive · 91% of 34 in the last 30 days

Players praise playing with friends and trying different weapon loadouts. They complain that public lobbies are scarce and the campaign has limited content; some recommend Reactive Drop instead.

Players over time

▲ +186% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 64 players on Nov 1, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 20269
Nov 6, 202622
Nov 5, 202618
Nov 4, 202632
Nov 3, 202634
Nov 2, 202653
Nov 1, 202664
Oct 31, 202632
Oct 30, 202612
Oct 29, 202615
Oct 28, 202615
Oct 27, 202615
Oct 27, 202617
Oct 26, 202628
Oct 25, 202634
Oct 24, 202642
Oct 23, 202611
Oct 22, 20260
Oct 21, 202614
Oct 20, 202623
Oct 19, 20269
Oct 18, 202624
Oct 17, 202614
Oct 16, 20266
Oct 15, 202618
Oct 14, 202615
Oct 13, 202628
Oct 12, 202620
Oct 11, 202614
Oct 10, 20269
Oct 9, 20265
Oct 8, 202615
Oct 7, 202610
Oct 6, 202611
Oct 5, 202617
Oct 4, 202615
Oct 3, 202615
Oct 2, 202610
Oct 1, 202619
Sep 30, 202626
Sep 29, 202611
Sep 28, 202616
Sep 27, 202616
Sep 26, 202611
Sep 25, 202610
Sep 24, 202616
Sep 23, 202610
Sep 23, 20268
Sep 22, 202623

How many players finish Alien Swarm?

29% of Steam players have unlocked «Easy Campaign», the achievement for finishing the main story.

Share of everyone who owns the game on Steam, including those who barely played it. Updated weekly.

Screenshots and trailer

Alien Swarm screenshot 1

Alien Swarm system requirements

Minimum: DirectX 9 GPU, 1 GB RAM, 2.5 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Alien Swarm?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS
Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP
Processor
Pentium 4 3.0GHz
Graphics
DirectX 9 compatible video card with 128 MB, Shader model 2.0. ATI X800, NVidia 6600 or better
Memory
1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Storage
At least 2.5 GB of free space

Recommended

OS
Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP
Processor
Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz
Graphics
DirectX 9 compatible video card with Shader model 3.0. NVidia 7600, ATI X1600 or better
Memory
1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Storage
At least 2.5 GB of free space

Does Alien Swarm have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: co-op (mode not specified). It also has a single-player mode.

Does Alien Swarm run on Steam Deck?

Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.

  • Default controller config not fully functional
  • Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
  • Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
  • Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
  • The native resolution is not the default one
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Keyboard and mouse
Platforms
Windows
Achievements
66
Steam features
Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Languages
Text only: English.

Does Alien Swarm use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

Games like Alien Swarm