FAQ
Craterborn · beta v0.3
Is the game free?
Yes. Craterborn runs in your browser with no install and no sign-up, and the whole game — every ring, the bosses, the gear and the town upgrades — is free to play. Only gems cost money, and you can earn those in play too; more below.
The game is in beta. The server is sometimes briefly down for updates, and bigger changes may reset progress — we will announce any planned reset in the game.
Where can I play?
- Computer — an up-to-date browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) with 3D graphics support (WebGL) and JavaScript turned on. You play with keyboard and mouse or a gamepad.
- Android phone — in the browser. The CRATERBORN app on Google Play is in closed testing for now: you get it after joining the testers group. It is the same game and the same account. The crater is played in landscape.
- iPhone — in Safari. Added to the Home Screen (Share → Add to Home Screen), the game launches full screen.
If you see a message about your browser instead of the Play button, update the browser or turn on hardware acceleration in its settings. If the page opens inside another app (for example from a link in a messenger), choose "Open in browser" in that app's menu.
Do I need to create an account?
No. Tap Play and you get a character straight away; you can pick your own name if you like. We recognise your account by its character code — a random string the game saves in your browser. Whoever has the code has the account, so never show it to anyone. The game team will never ask you for your code — not in chat, not by e-mail.
Clearing your browser data removes the code. To keep your character, link the account to an e-mail address in the settings — then you can get back in with a code sent to your inbox, from any device. You can also move to another phone or computer with just your character code.
You can delete the account in the game settings or on the account deletion page — even without the game, using your character code. Deletion is permanent.
Is there PvP?
Yes — from ring T2 inward, players can attack each other. The outer ring T1, where the exits stand, is a no-PvP zone. For the first 8 seconds after you descend your character is invulnerable; the protection ends sooner if you attack first. Fighting another player locks you out of T1 for 12 seconds, and every new hit restarts the count — a lost fight cannot be escaped with two steps over the line.
Members of the same party cannot hurt each other. Whoever dies leaves their whole backpack in a cairn that anyone can loot. Defeated players count towards the kills leaderboard.
What do gems do?
Gems buy only the Season Pass. The pass has 30 levels earned with daily contracts and lasts one season, usually a calendar month (the September season is extended to the end of October). It gives your character looks — an outfit for your class, a companion, a title and a salute over the exit when you extract — and on the other levels gems back, half the pass price in total. Until 31 October 2026 those levels also give Marks and crafting materials; from the November season, gems only. Gems cannot buy gear, stats or upgrades; everything that makes you stronger in a fight comes from the crater.
You can also earn gems by playing: during the Gem Rush (every day from 18:00 to 21:00 Polish time, each elite you defeat drops 1 gem and the boss drops 2 — they count once you extract), for the weekly leaderboard podium (30, 20 and 10 gems on the loot, extracted and bosses boards), and for an ad watched to the end — 5 gems, up to 5 ads a day, when ads are available. Unused gems do not expire.
Who sells gems, and how do refunds work?
Gem sales have been open since 4 October 2026. On the website gems are sold by Sold through Link (a Stripe company) — card statements show the LINK.COM* prefix. In the Google Play app the seller is Google. Your purchase contract is with the seller, who issues the receipt and handles refunds; questions about how gems and the pass work in the game go to us.
A refund takes the same number of gems back from the account, and things bought with them before the refund may be reversed. Gems earned in play are not a purchase and cannot be refunded. Bought gems usually arrive within seconds; if they are not there an hour after paying, write to us with the date of purchase. The details, including the right of withdrawal, are in the terms (sections 5a–5c).
I lost my loot — can you restore it?
No. Loot reaches your stash only after extraction; if you die or are still down there when the crater closes, it is lost — that is a rule of the game, not a bug. If your connection drops, your character waits in the crater for 30 seconds; the game reconnects on its own, and you can also take over the run from another device.
How do I report a bug?
Write to kontakt@craterborn.com. A description helps most: what happened, what you were doing just before and at what time. The game settings show a line of technical details (including the browser and the display mode) — copy it into your message, especially for a problem on a phone. The game version is shown on the start screen, next to the links at the bottom.
How do I report or block a player?
Tap the player's name in the town chat, or type it in Settings → Other players. The report includes that player's recent messages — only the ones they really wrote. You will not see a blocked player in chat or in speech bubbles in the crater, and you will not get party invites from them. Reports are reviewed by a member of the game team; the chat rules are in the terms.
How do I change the language?
With the flags on the start screen or in the settings. The game remembers the language you pick.