01
Install Plutonium
Download the launcher from plutonium.pw, create an account, and point it at a legitimate MW3 install. Plutonium does not distribute game files and neither do we.
Guide
Playing MW3 Spec Ops Survival online
Plutonium doesn't ship Survival — this is how it's playable anyway, and how to get into a game in about five minutes.
The short answer
Search for MW3 Survival on Plutonium and you will mostly find people being told it does not exist. That is true of the client — Plutonium IW5 targets multiplayer, and Spec Ops and Survival are not planned, because Survival is technically part of the singleplayer game.
It is not true of dedicated servers. A community-built, server-side recreation of Survival runs on the server rather than in your game, which means anyone connecting with a stock Plutonium install can play it. No extra download, no separate client, no singleplayer files. That is what these servers run, and why there are wave records on this site at all.
Live
What's been recorded here
Runs recorded
1,706
Highest wave
67
Maps played
129
Cost to play
Free
Getting in
From install to wave one
02
Launch IW5 multiplayer
Survival runs on dedicated multiplayer servers, so launch IW5 in Multiplayer mode — not singleplayer. Set your in-game name first; records are tracked against it.
03
Copy a Survival server's connect command
Open the server list, pick a Survival server and hit Copy connect. Open the console in-game with the ~ key, paste, and press enter.
04
Survive
Your best wave is recorded per map automatically. Solo and duo are ranked separately, and speedrun boards track how fast you reached a given wave.
Questions
Survival on Plutonium, answered
Does Plutonium support MW3 Spec Ops Survival?
Not officially. The Plutonium IW5 client is built for multiplayer, and the team has repeatedly said Spec Ops and Survival are not planned, because Survival is technically part of the singleplayer portion of the game. What makes it playable online is a community-built, server-side recreation running on a dedicated server — that is what GRN runs.
Can I play MW3 Survival online with a friend?
Yes. Duo runs are supported and ranked separately from solo, so a two-player run competes against other two-player runs rather than against solo records.
Do I need anything besides Plutonium?
No. You need the Plutonium launcher and a legitimate Modern Warfare 3 installation, exactly as you would for multiplayer. Everything specific to Survival lives on the server, so there is nothing extra to download or install.
Is it the same as the original Spec Ops Survival?
It is a recreation, not the original singleplayer mode, so some details differ — enemy waves, weapon availability and the shop behave close to the original but are not identical. The core loop of surviving progressively harder waves is intact.
Which maps can I play Survival on?
Far more than the original shipped with. Because it runs server-side it works on standard multiplayer maps as well as custom ones, and a best-wave record is tracked separately for every map.
Does it cost anything?
No. Every GRN server is free to join. There is an optional VIP tier that covers hosting costs and grants cosmetics and a reserved slot, and it has no effect on gameplay.
Still stuck?
The fastest way to get a human is Discord. Bring your in-game name and what you have already tried. General setup problems are covered in the main guides.
Ask in Discord