Game Dev Tycoon

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1191 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 835 out of 1191
  2. Mixed: 278 out of 1191
  3. Negative: 78 out of 1191

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  1. TheDXDan
    Feb 25, 2015
    8
    It's a Fun game!
    You Play through video game history,make consoles,projects,and MORE! I LOVE THIS GAME!

    Its also very cheap and also has Modding support so you can add MORE STUFF TO THE GAME!

    Its a good Game Altogether
  2. Referee
    Jan 24, 2015
    10
    One of the best games, I think. It is original and creative. It interesting and unpredictable. At last, she is beautiful. I play every day. Lightens mood.
  3. gonzalo123
    Jan 19, 2015
    3
    Well, this game is so funny, but the fun disappears when you see that you are in bankrupt. The game is a mediocre simulation of developing games, and isn't realistic or fun. Difficult to recommend.
  4. DDilettante
    Jan 17, 2015
    7
    I need to open by admitting the truth; I am not, and never was, good at management/tycoon type games. All those needs, requirements, wants... why can't everyone and everything work well together, without my constant vigilance? But I suppose, that's not the point, or the game wouldn't be challenging!

    This game starts you in your humble basement, at the beginning of the video gaming era.    I need to open by admitting the truth; I am not, and never was, good at management/tycoon type games. All those needs, requirements, wants... why can't everyone and everything work well together, without my constant vigilance? But I suppose, that's not the point, or the game wouldn't be challenging!

    This game starts you in your humble basement, at the beginning of the video gaming era. You work with what you have, making small games with minimal hardware, hearing the announcements roll on by; consoles are slowly released, murmurings within the industry heard, trends are identified.

    You pour your efforts into parts of the games you feel are going to give the best reviews, and thus generate the most revenue. Want to make a Medieval-Action game? Sure. Invest more time in the gameplay, but you're going to have to cut back in other areas, perhaps dialogue.

    Eventually, you'll make enough to move out into your own office. You can hire a team, each with different stats. You can train them (and yourself) up as you release more hopeful winners, while keeping up with the technology curve. With enough time and money, you can even make your own consoles, and have an R&D department.

    Because of my ineptitude towards tycoon games, I initially felt underwhelmed. The Farmville-esque graphics deterred me, and I kept needing bailouts from the bank.

    But then I hit my first winner. An overall 9.5 rating for a particular game. My bank account swelled. I suddenly knew what I was doing. I was hooked, trying to get that perfect 10 game (I never did, sadly). Watching those thought bubbles rise from your workers, seeing your game get more and more tech-design points was addictive. Wanting to try all the combinations of games. Trying out all the witty Pun-related game titles.

    Add all of the mods currently available on steam, and this could warrant several playthroughs (the story goes through 35 years of the gaming industry).

    Game Dev Tycoon is great if you like this sort of thing, and even if you don't normally go for these, it's still worth a try. It got me.    … Expand
  5. PPartisan
    Dec 29, 2014
    2
    GDT gives me very little reason to keep playing. The visuals are incredibly bland, the few animations and pop-ups that do exist lack context or character, in game feedback is sparse, and the underlying logic of the game appears flawed. In a word, it's unsatisfying. In another, it's boring. So, two hours after dropping £2.50 on it in the Steam sale, I'm done for good.

    From what I could    GDT gives me very little reason to keep playing. The visuals are incredibly bland, the few animations and pop-ups that do exist lack context or character, in game feedback is sparse, and the underlying logic of the game appears flawed. In a word, it's unsatisfying. In another, it's boring. So, two hours after dropping £2.50 on it in the Steam sale, I'm done for good.

    From what I could garner about the underlying mechanics of the game, success is based upon the correct combination of topic, platform, audience, genre, and then a variety of in game variables such as choosing to focus on dialogue, level design etc. The problem is that instead of having much at all to do about games or business management, GDT is all about making a series of guesses about correct combinations. It isn't about making your own games at all, or running your own start-up, but instead about replicating game history, as the only guiding principle a player really has for success is their own knowledge of what games were historically successful on what console at what times and for what reason. It's hour after hour of tapping boxes, getting one-liner reviews, a good or a bad score, then rinsing and repeating. The only "reward" for the player is the prospect of a good review and an occasional change of scenery. The pace of the game is very fast as well which, whilst irritating in some ways as it encourages button spam, serves to mask the one-dimensional game mechanics.

    Certain bizarre occurrences include harsh penalties for making game "sequels," or specialising in a particular genre, obligatory wage hikes for staff, no system for managing overheads and entering both the gaming and management industry completely blind! Everything is trial and error. Instead of having an option to research the status of the gaming industry at a given time to plan a game's structure and release date, I just have to take a guess and cross my fingers. Even when training staff, I don't know what it is I'm actually training them in (!) until their training is complete. If I knew as little as my avatar does, with zero knowledge of game or management, there's no way I'd create a start-up in my garage, yet I feel as if this is what I'm supposed to believe.

    A game of this sort could work very well, but it needs a serious injection of personality. As it is, I honestly wouldn't even play it for free.    … Expand
  6. TheReviewPeng
    Dec 21, 2014
    10
    This game is brilliant. It requires basic mathematical knowledge and uses some algorithms. Eventually making multi platform and multi genre games gets difficult but you can work out how to successfully make games using them. I have around 21 hours playtime on Year 131 with 3,864Million cash. It is very very fun. But now I've done and researched everything and make over 100 games I canThis game is brilliant. It requires basic mathematical knowledge and uses some algorithms. Eventually making multi platform and multi genre games gets difficult but you can work out how to successfully make games using them. I have around 21 hours playtime on Year 131 with 3,864Million cash. It is very very fun. But now I've done and researched everything and make over 100 games I can safely say I got my money's worth :D Recommend 10/10 + Fun easter eggs and Storyline.… Expand
  7. Enerla
    Dec 15, 2014
    2
    Tycoon without Tycoon experience...
    Simulation genre given without actual simulation...
    Speaks about history without mentioning the most important parts (early experiments, arcade machines, famous crashes and booms)... Speaks about the important systems without mentioning Atari, Magnavox, and several other early / important platforms. Speaks about a story without meaningful events and    Tycoon without Tycoon experience...
    Simulation genre given without actual simulation...
    Speaks about history without mentioning the most important parts (early experiments, arcade machines, famous crashes and booms)...
    Speaks about the important systems without mentioning Atari, Magnavox, and several other early / important platforms.
    Speaks about a story without meaningful events and and turning points...

    Boring and repetitive gameplay with little charm from design, characters or technology...    … Expand
  8. Negativs
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    At least it's Patrick's and Dan's first game,but it is missing some point. Like:
    1.They could at least follow the gaming story.
    2.Critic reviews are pointless.
    3.Minimum modding.

    If developers will add patch,where are 1 and 2 items,than this game would be better,at least.
  9. RealmCopier
    Oct 17, 2014
    10
    My favorite game of all time. If you're willing to wait, you can accomplish truly great things all within a video game. Sometimes I forget I'm playing a game and not managing an actual game development company that's how in depth it is. For an indie game, it's absolutely fantastic.
  10. CrazySlaya
    Sep 26, 2014
    6
    It is a above average game. It is a time waster. It is fun but gets boring after a bit. You can get to the highest stage and make MMO's over and over again. You get more money and just repeat. That's the part where it get boring. The only way it is surviving for me is the mods. It still is alright with mods and it brings up something new. If you don't have anything good to play or buy thisIt is a above average game. It is a time waster. It is fun but gets boring after a bit. You can get to the highest stage and make MMO's over and over again. You get more money and just repeat. That's the part where it get boring. The only way it is surviving for me is the mods. It still is alright with mods and it brings up something new. If you don't have anything good to play or buy this is the game.… Expand
  11. Triiz
    Sep 12, 2014
    6
    First off this game is quite fun. I started it one afternoon thinking that I would just give it a shot 45 minutes. In the end I got hooked till the end of the game (around 6 hours of gameplay). What is interesting here is that the longer you play the more flaws you encounter. As much as the beginning is fun and refreshing, as much is the end boring and repetitive and you just can't waitFirst off this game is quite fun. I started it one afternoon thinking that I would just give it a shot 45 minutes. In the end I got hooked till the end of the game (around 6 hours of gameplay). What is interesting here is that the longer you play the more flaws you encounter. As much as the beginning is fun and refreshing, as much is the end boring and repetitive and you just can't wait for your studio to go crashing down or hit the "official end".

    The good points:
    - Graphics are nice
    - The concept is very interesting and the beginning is very exciting.

    The bad points:
    - Gameplay: this is where the game can vastly improve. It's not all bad, the base of it are, I think, good. At the beginning it is pretty cool to create your first few games. It is around the middle that it starts getting a bit tedious. What happens is that you tend to simply create sequels to your successful games. Another annoying part is researching genre (pirate, medieval, warfare...). The game only let's you do research on a limited list that grows when you unlock one. The issue is that if you have an idea in mind it takes ages to reach what you want. Surely something better could be done here.
    - Lack of depth: Overall it is the lack of depth of the this game that makes it fail. For instance, when creating an MMO you cannot decide any thing (free to play VS pay monthly). Creating an expansion simply adds users to the game, which cannot unsuscribe to it as the number just goes up. However, the maintenance cost of the game only rise up, even if your user base doesn't increase. Which, to me, makes no sense. World of Warcraft would have failed by now if that was the case.

    Overall, this is a fun game, I was tempted to give it 5 but if you take it as a "mini" management game and kind of ignore the lack of depth, it is fun to play. It probably could improve some things fairly easily (MMO creation and management, possibility to develop expansion and DLC to any games...).    … Expand
  12. vorgbardo
    Sep 10, 2014
    7
    The good: initially very fun; nice clean graphics; great music; offers an entertaining insight into the gaming industry.

    The bad: UI could be improved in parts (for example, it is be imperative to find your old games, but currently there is no way to filter them, so browsing gets very tedious when your stack of releases grows); this game loans so many elements directly from Game Dev    The good: initially very fun; nice clean graphics; great music; offers an entertaining insight into the gaming industry.

    The bad: UI could be improved in parts (for example, it is be imperative to find your old games, but currently there is no way to filter them, so browsing gets very tedious when your stack of releases grows); this game loans so many elements directly from Game Dev Story that it could be called a blatant rip-off.

    The worst: the success of the games you create is calculated based on very complex formula, and it has little or no random element. Also, this formula is always the same in every game you play. This is a personal preference, but to me this killed much of the enjoyment of this game: the way to success is always the same, tediously follow the pre-set mechanism that the creators of the game have set for creating the best selling products. If you stray from this and experiment, you will be invariably punished with lower scores for your games. Where's the fun in that?    … Expand
  13. fuzioN
    Sep 8, 2014
    9
    I can't remember the last time I started to play a game and got so addicted that i went on for 12-14 hours non stop. It's pretty hard in the beginning, gets a lot easier when you get the hang of it. Not giving a 10/10 only because i wish it were longer: longevity is a big issue here. Great game, thanks for the fun Greenheart!
  14. samuelmason900
    Sep 4, 2014
    9
    worth playing game for the amount of money i'm spending for this game. amazingly crafted brilliant game you found in this decade or even century.every gamer must know what is it being game development
  15. LedMetallica
    Aug 30, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ONLY GERMAN:
    Mit Game Dev Tycoon erlebt man ein neues Spielerlebniss welches unheimlich Packend ist. Man fängt klein an und will mehr machen, besser werden, Träume verwirklichen und die aberwitzigsten Kommentare kommen von den Entwicklern hinzu.
    Grafik ist sehr schlich gehalten, die Konsolen Namen sind sehr interessant ausgewählt, der Sound ist auch sehr schlicht aber das Gameplay ist unbeschreiblich.
    Das Wichtigste zu diesem Spiel ist, dass man ja einen kühlen Kopf behält und stets einen überblick hat un Herr über die Lage ist.    … Expand
  16. Erazor
    Aug 23, 2014
    0
    I thought this was a remake of a Game Dev Story by Kiarosoft, it's actually a completely mindless unoriginal copycat POS I have ever seen. It's one thing to go for the same genre and subject, but another to also steal every single idea. I sincerely hope you guys paid some licensing fee otherwise I hope you get sued and go bankrupt. 0/10, uninspired, unoriginal, disappointing, meh,I thought this was a remake of a Game Dev Story by Kiarosoft, it's actually a completely mindless unoriginal copycat POS I have ever seen. It's one thing to go for the same genre and subject, but another to also steal every single idea. I sincerely hope you guys paid some licensing fee otherwise I hope you get sued and go bankrupt. 0/10, uninspired, unoriginal, disappointing, meh, borderline thieving.… Expand
  17. Cam_53
    Aug 16, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In Game Dev Tycoon the opportunity to create your own games with different programs and weird combos you would never even consider.The amount of detail and effort really impressed me and in all made a great gaming experience especially for the current £3.50 cost on steam makes it a great buy and in my mind a brilliant well made game.… Expand
  18. Vunguard
    Aug 15, 2014
    7
    This is a neat little game, and every part of me wants to like it, because there are a lot of things that are just not right about it. So first the good, it does a good job of pacing the game development process and gives all kinds of possibilities for you to work with. It has a nice atmosphere and is nicely in-depth while still being fairly accessible. The general interface is simple,This is a neat little game, and every part of me wants to like it, because there are a lot of things that are just not right about it. So first the good, it does a good job of pacing the game development process and gives all kinds of possibilities for you to work with. It has a nice atmosphere and is nicely in-depth while still being fairly accessible. The general interface is simple, but it leans more towards the streamlined side of the spectrum than on anything severely dumbed down. The technological development process if nice and it's kind of interesting to see how the consoles develop, even if I tend to just ride the PC train until the end destination.

    There is some weird stuff about inaccuracies, such as how the publishers are only one-time deals (which isn't how it works AT ALL, in fact most companies get trapped), but I'm willing to let that one slide since that wouldn't be fun. The rating system makes me chuckle (basically, to determine how good the game is, you get four magazine scores which are #/10) because every time I do REALLY well I just laugh because there's always ONE magazine that gives me a lower score. My favorite was one where I had three tens and then one random seven. Also, the size of your company's staff is... not huge. In fact it's downright dinky. So for every person I like to think there's closer to five or ten.

    Now, all this said... there is a bit of a problem. And unfortunately it's a core mechanic. When making a game, you have sliders for each attribute of the game at three different stages, and you shift the attributes according to the type of game you're making. It's very important you get this right, otherwise you could accidentally make a horrible game. Well... in order to do this, it's kind of nice to have percentages or something else quantifiable. Shame this game doesn't do that. On top of that, that particular part is very poorly tutorialized, in fact while it gives you information about the priorities, it doesn't teach you how to translate them into your sliders. RPG's in particular can be catastrophic because translating everything is nightmare inducing. Mods help this, but the game doesn't get any points for that in my book.

    It's a good game at heart, but it has some little things in desperate need of help. this seems like a good group of devs, and their heart is in the right place. I'm glad a supported this game, and I think that it deserves to be successful, I just hope they patch what needs fixing.    … Expand
  19. SergeantSilly
    Aug 14, 2014
    2
    I would love to enjoy this game and play it in full but it has one of the most frustrating mechanics in any video game. The game calculates the score that your game receives based on two main things, how close you get to the best technology to design ratio and by comparing it to your last released game. The giant flaw in this system is that the best method of playing is to make games notI would love to enjoy this game and play it in full but it has one of the most frustrating mechanics in any video game. The game calculates the score that your game receives based on two main things, how close you get to the best technology to design ratio and by comparing it to your last released game. The giant flaw in this system is that the best method of playing is to make games not as good as they could be in order to allow you to make your next game get a higher score easier. This is one of the most frustrating systems I have ever seen in a game. The rest of the elements of this game are great and I would love it but this one mechanic makes the game unbearably annoying, punishing me for doing well.… Expand
  20. Zsolt77
    Jul 27, 2014
    10
    I really enjoyed building up a game studio from a Garage. The game conveyed a few messages for me:
    -the best investment is to train yourself
    -you yourself never complain or go to vacation -to make the best games you need the best people -the greatest danger in the life of such a company is getting high fix costs when it goes well once and then failing to deliver later It was like a    I really enjoyed building up a game studio from a Garage. The game conveyed a few messages for me:
    -the best investment is to train yourself
    -you yourself never complain or go to vacation
    -to make the best games you need the best people
    -the greatest danger in the life of such a company is getting high fix costs when it goes well once and then failing to deliver later
    It was like a learning game and I couldn't stop till 4am :)    … Expand
  21. PaKr
    Jul 22, 2014
    9
    Excellent game. Combines both simplicity and complicity :) It's easy to play, but not so easy to win. And it's a game about making games. I will not rest until create PERFECT GAME...
  22. bacisnipertop62
    Jul 19, 2014
    7
    Un petit jeu vraiment sympathique pour passer le temps . Avec un système de score vraiment bien pensé ou tout ce que l'on a fait est bien calculer . En plus la possibilité de vraiment personnalisé les jeux qu'on sort est vraiment pas mal .
  23. Rixhack
    Jul 13, 2014
    9
    It's a fun, retro style game which can make you get angry at your game failing - or be super happy and jump around the room screaming (True Story :P). But however, once you finish the game it's get's boring. Once you finish the games you don't unlock any new stuff so it gets old quickly. For me, I finished this game in one night. It's a fun experience for a couple of days, but it getsIt's a fun, retro style game which can make you get angry at your game failing - or be super happy and jump around the room screaming (True Story :P). But however, once you finish the game it's get's boring. Once you finish the games you don't unlock any new stuff so it gets old quickly. For me, I finished this game in one night. It's a fun experience for a couple of days, but it gets boring after you finish.… Expand
  24. Alkor
    Jul 5, 2014
    6
    A fun little sim game. Quite addictive, pretty well balanced for such a kind of game.
    Almost entirely text based, the graphics are a bit dull and the replayability is almost non existent tho...
  25. Enforcer122
    Jul 4, 2014
    8
    Really fun game. Easy to pick up, hard to master. There is so much room for growth and potential, more in-depth interviews and game making system for example. But it's an enjoyable, addictive game that will keep you entertained for weeks.
  26. lazatoy
    Jun 30, 2014
    8
    So, I reviewed this game when I still hadn't gotten the new updates that I'd wanted.
    Looking at it now with my steam key in hand, I can see where everyone went with this.
    The reason why I rated it slightly lower though, is not because of the update or patch or so forth, but rather some of the mods. Now, to be honest, I like the mods, even though theres not to many of them. But when    So, I reviewed this game when I still hadn't gotten the new updates that I'd wanted.
    Looking at it now with my steam key in hand, I can see where everyone went with this.

    The reason why I rated it slightly lower though, is not because of the update or patch or so forth, but rather some of the mods.
    Now, to be honest, I like the mods, even though theres not to many of them.
    But when you can click a button that will give you hours of FUN for free, whats the point?
    The update was awesome, though it took some of the charm off that would make me
    stay on for hours on end, TRYING to reach the end without reaching for the "cheatmenu" to
    give me billions of dollars and a team of highly trained cheaters (*ahem*) I mean employees FOR FREE.
    It is still a great game, but unless you want to bored, stay away from the cheat mods.    … Expand
  27. joggy
    Jun 25, 2014
    8
    Bought on summer sale for 3 euros, and I'm delighted with it. This is true casual game for me, it's easy to learn and very hard to master. Hours of fun. 8 overall, and that is top score which I can give to indie game
  28. demFailz
    Jun 22, 2014
    7
    Game Dev Tycoon is a fun, but challenging game. Greenheart Game's first game is a good start for the company. It's simple, but not too simple. It's hard, but not too hard. While there are better games than it, this game offers good enjoyment for a small price.
  29. mrlordloganman
    Jun 13, 2014
    10
    This was an amazing game I was really surprised since it was an indie game you need to use logic and reasoning. It is really fun and I played over 20 hours and still love it!
  30. ericcoutinho
    Jun 12, 2014
    7
    You are a game developer, working on your garage in the early years of gaming, developing from the old Commodore 64 to Ouya or XBox One. In the next 30-40 years you will grow side by side with the gaming industry, researching technology, design, marketing, and trying to make history.

    Game Dev Tycoon is an addictive casual game, and although not so deep in the simulation aspect, provides    You are a game developer, working on your garage in the early years of gaming, developing from the old Commodore 64 to Ouya or XBox One. In the next 30-40 years you will grow side by side with the gaming industry, researching technology, design, marketing, and trying to make history.

    Game Dev Tycoon is an addictive casual game, and although not so deep in the simulation aspect, provides a wide range of resources to manage, and to master this management you'll have to play it more than once, since the tips about how the market reacts to combinations of topic/genre/platform and time spent on each level of developing, still unlocked to the next playthrough.

    What kind of game the market wants now? Which technology is better to use? May i spent more time on level design or artificial intelligence? May i have to create a new engine or research new topics? It's better to make it alone or it's time to move on to another work space and hire employees? Shall i spent more time creating games or studying? How about to have a boot at this year convention? Self-publishing or using a publisher? May i need to sue pirates, give away old engines or let the fans to make related games? That's some of the questions you'll face while playing.

    About the flaws, the game have some, mostly because it needed more work to put together all this resources without compromising the gameplay. But facing it like a casual, cheap game, and learning how the game works, these flaws doesn't matter that much at the point of being big problems.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
46
#46 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. SpazioGames
    Sep 16, 2014
    65
    Taking into account the quite low price and the almost non-existent technical requirements, Game Dev Tycoon is a good and above all original game, albeit without great pretensions.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    May 12, 2014
    30
    However, I don't really think Tycoon really wants to be more than ‘a glimpse' at video game production, and any attempt to comment on the industry from this dull, monotonous experience fails to hit its mark.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 24, 2013
    80
    What is it like to start with a few thousand dollars and end up in an office full of people producing multi-million gaming hits? This game lets you find out and makes it worth your while. [Nov 2013]
See all critic reviews »