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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. vampireboar
    May 14, 2013
    8
    Pretty good game. Overall. The visual style is extremely cute, it's got plenty of reasonably funny bits, it's just generally enjoyable to play.

    It has got a few big problems though, the scoring for your games doesn't feel connected enough to your decisions and the research system the custom engine system are just idiotically executed. If you can overlook those serious problems though,    Pretty good game. Overall. The visual style is extremely cute, it's got plenty of reasonably funny bits, it's just generally enjoyable to play.

    It has got a few big problems though, the scoring for your games doesn't feel connected enough to your decisions and the research system the custom engine system are just idiotically executed.
    If you can overlook those serious problems though, you will find a lot of fun here.    … Expand
  2. WarriorPancake
    Aug 31, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon is the most beautiful game ever. I actually love this game. When you fail you actually want to play again after your empire fails and dies horribly. Go buy it, it should be priced higher its that good!
  3. bdube30
    May 23, 2013
    8
    Really good tycoon game.

    Caution VERY ADDICTIVE I can play many hours without see the time gone Very good game. The game is made for make us think to the best way to develop a game. Simple but good.
  4. busbfran
    Dec 24, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon, will always have you coming back for more in which I believe is a sign of a successful game. If you have play Game Dev story by kairosoft, this is a more updated and realistic version still packed with the addicting and joy of creating a hit game. I would recommended this game to all Simulations fans and anyone looking to try something different.
  5. LeonRPGPlayer
    Jun 11, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Already finished the game, Its a nice game, i actually finished the game and stopped playing with 1B it's really cool, and the fact that you can develop your on console, i enjoy so much that type of games, but well, its not one super amazing game like Metro Last Light or Bioshock Infinite, its a casual, but for me, a very good casual/simulation game.… Expand
  6. Segacritic1998
    Nov 22, 2013
    8
    This game is just awesome! You can do many things in the game like develop games (Duh),train your own staff,make mmos,make consoles, and much more! The problem is they left out some consoles from the game like: Atari 2600, Atari 5200 Atari 7800, 3do, Atari jaguar,Neo geo, and a few others.Also it starts out slow when you start the game for the first time which can make you impatient atThis game is just awesome! You can do many things in the game like develop games (Duh),train your own staff,make mmos,make consoles, and much more! The problem is they left out some consoles from the game like: Atari 2600, Atari 5200 Atari 7800, 3do, Atari jaguar,Neo geo, and a few others.Also it starts out slow when you start the game for the first time which can make you impatient at times but other than that the game is fantastic!… Expand
  7. Piscaso
    Sep 5, 2013
    8
    Pretty hard...
    But it's still fun.
    It took my FOREVER to get past the FIRST LEVEL.
    I'm still stuck on some level, but I have a feel for the game.

    "Played it for days."
  8. Comediatic
    Sep 2, 2013
    8
    I've been playing this game for a few days now, and it's fair enough to say I have the right to review it.

    As the game has many great aspects of game development, it still requires many updates, tweaks, and add-ons to really resemble the real-world game development perspective. No doubt, this game has an extremely high potential for success. But like saying, the game is basically like    I've been playing this game for a few days now, and it's fair enough to say I have the right to review it.

    As the game has many great aspects of game development, it still requires many updates, tweaks, and add-ons to really resemble the real-world game development perspective. No doubt, this game has an extremely high potential for success. But like saying, the game is basically like Don't Starve. It has a great catch to it, only does it die over time. You get bored after developing your 20th game. If there isn't a good review to encourage you to continue then you will likely to leave it untouched for a couple of months later. It's a really nice touch to brainstorm ideas for next generation consoles, I have to give credit to the developers for that. However, they should consider adding more freedom to the game like having the ability to edit price for your games, or have more than three bars on developing stages to give a more complex and elemental game for you to create. That saying, it's still a fun game to play when you have a MacBook Air or another Ultrabook that doesn't chip in mainstream games like Tomb Raider or Call of Duty.

    Conclusion

    Game Dev Tycoon is Green Heart Games' first game ever. And I think it's underrated for its category, considering that there are plenty of other indie games that have a more repetitive concept. The game receive a very very high potential to success. With a few tweaks and updates to have more freedom and content to the game, it will be a plentiful success for the game and its developers. And although, it won't be as a hit as Minecraft, it still remains as one of my favourite indie games of all time.

    Graphics 9/10 (It's great, clean, vivid, and simple 2D Graphics)
    Gameplay 7/10 (Develops overtime and becomes challenging, however it's repetitive)
    Realistic Perspective 6/10 (Great deal and study of the game-console history, however more tweaks and updates should do the job of increasing game realism)
    Overall (Not an average) 8/10    … Expand
  9. TerribleFate
    Nov 29, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon is one of the best simulation games I've ever played. It's fun, it's deep and great. You can spend a lot of time managing your own dev company and maybe it's very similar to game dev story, but I think this game is deeper than Game dev story.
  10. Alaxtis
    Aug 28, 2013
    8
    By no means a perfect game, but a truly remarkable one, especially for a first title. I would recommend this to anyone who instinctively can tell they will like it from the title, and to anyone who loves the industry/wants to change it.
  11. BritMboh
    Sep 6, 2013
    8
    First things first, STOP CALLING IT A CARBON COPY OF GAME DEV STORY! It is a lot more than that and just takes inspiration from it. In my opinion, the gameplay is even more absorbing than GDS as it requires a lot of input on your part. While there are frame rate issues once the game gets hectic towards the end, GDT is a very enjoyable business simulation that I could play over and over again.
  12. KingCrazy
    Aug 21, 2013
    8
    Game Dev Tycoon is a really fun simulation game that brings me joy every time I play it. It's fun to be set in the seat of a game designer (which is a job I plan on doing), and think of some crazy ideas and turn them into games. The concept for the game is good, the execution is great, so why did I give it an 8? Well, simple:

    The game doesn't do a good job of telling you what you did    Game Dev Tycoon is a really fun simulation game that brings me joy every time I play it. It's fun to be set in the seat of a game designer (which is a job I plan on doing), and think of some crazy ideas and turn them into games. The concept for the game is good, the execution is great, so why did I give it an 8? Well, simple:

    The game doesn't do a good job of telling you what you did wrong when you make a game. Reviewers give your game a score, much like I'm doing now, and tell you simple things like "Don't buy" if you score low, or "A must have!!" if you score high. These don't really tell you why you scored high or low, they just tell you what the game already says (since they give you a number 1 10 along with the quote). This makes it a little annoying when you're trying to make that hit game.

    Next, the game also fails to give you a variety when it comes to the consoles. Each console released is related to a real-life console in some way, and has the same rises and falls as such. In reality, you could just memorize the game market since the 80's and know how everything will play out. Systems drop, other ones rise... It's all really cool for the first time, but the second time you play you realize there's no randomized aspect of it. It's all straight forward and it's forced to happen. If they added a gamemode to randomize the success of certain dud consoles, or to drop the success of other consoles, I feel the game would have a lot more re-playability. As it stands, the only re-playability the game has is to play with focusing on one console/type of consoles (e.g. going handhelds only, etc...)

    In addition, the game seems to cap out kinda' early. It can take awhile to rise up in success for the 30 in-game years you have (which can be changed slightly in the options). This leaves you with little time to actually create a huge successful company by the end of the game's 'story mode'. Luckily the game will let you continue playing even after this point.

    Another thing is how sometimes creating your game makes you feel empty. It leaves it up to your imagination to think of how the game would actually look, and doesn't give you much of an idea of how it turns out when you're just pulling sliders up and down. This is a minor thing, though, since it'd be hard to get into the player's head as to how the game would actually be. Something else is that besides adding extra stuff for a boost in your score, some add-ons are really ridiculous. Creating a spelling game on the Gameboy-clone with steering wheel support has no consequence at all.

    Though that's pretty much it for the bad side. The good side of the game is that you have a lot of fun creating new ideas for games, and when you create a hit it feels so great. The game also lacks any sort of "coins" or "power" system, so you're not bound by a pay-to-win business model. The game also has a kind of charm to it, and when you get into the bigger offices you start to feel like you're a big-shot company. The game also has many different ways you can create games, ranging from picking different genres, creating and choosing your own game engines, creating the scale of the game (small, medium, large, AAA, etc), choosing the target audience, picking add-ons to make the game better, and even how the marketing. It does it's job creating a good video game creator simulator. I'd recommend buying it since it's not that much, and it also supports the real developers for future projects or updating the game itself.    … Expand
  13. daygun
    Aug 22, 2013
    8
    So, yes Game Dev Tycoon is a lot like Game Dev Story by Kairosoft, and it is obvious that it is somewhat modeled after it. That being said, I would call this a nice upgrade. It has more locations, more genres, and more overall. It doesn't bring anything massive new to the game from Kairosoft's classic for iOS, but it does bring nice little additions. There are some ideas in Game DevSo, yes Game Dev Tycoon is a lot like Game Dev Story by Kairosoft, and it is obvious that it is somewhat modeled after it. That being said, I would call this a nice upgrade. It has more locations, more genres, and more overall. It doesn't bring anything massive new to the game from Kairosoft's classic for iOS, but it does bring nice little additions. There are some ideas in Game Dev Story that I liked, that are not in this game, but they are usually minor and not game-changing. This game brings new graphic style, new features, and a new feel to the classic. So if you're looking for something that takes Game Dev Story over the top, don't look here, but if you're simply looking for something to allow us to relive the joy of the previous game in a new way, you're in the right place, and it's a good spend of 8-10 USD.

    -Day    … Expand
  14. red_smasher
    Sep 1, 2013
    8
    I found this game fun and addicting. It entangles you in the creative options you get. I really felt like i was leading a team to create a game. Now it is some what like Game Dev Story, but i think of game creation like art. My reason to use game development and art together i ,yes, they are hard. What i am saying is you can use a saying they use for art to co-inside with GameI found this game fun and addicting. It entangles you in the creative options you get. I really felt like i was leading a team to create a game. Now it is some what like Game Dev Story, but i think of game creation like art. My reason to use game development and art together i ,yes, they are hard. What i am saying is you can use a saying they use for art to co-inside with Game development. Which is, The greatest complement to an artist, in this case a game developer/company, is to copy their work. It means that the artwork, or video game, is popular enough to attract people to want to copy them.… Expand
  15. CopyPaste
    Aug 29, 2013
    8
    This fun little game is one of the most pleasant surprises on the scene recently. It’s easy to play, and although the interface isn’t state of the art and the gameplay is highly repetitive, it’s still very fun. Kept me in front of the screen for hours, didn’t even notice I was playing it for 6 hours straight! I guess the replayability is limited, but hey, which game today isn’t boring onThis fun little game is one of the most pleasant surprises on the scene recently. It’s easy to play, and although the interface isn’t state of the art and the gameplay is highly repetitive, it’s still very fun. Kept me in front of the screen for hours, didn’t even notice I was playing it for 6 hours straight! I guess the replayability is limited, but hey, which game today isn’t boring on fifth playtrough?

    Game Dev Tycoon is a typical business-management game (well, it does say ‘tycoon’ in the title, so no surprise there), and making money is your primary goal. However, this time around you earn those piles of cash by living through the history of gaming, trying to recreate those legendary titles dear to all of us gamers.

    The game is fairly cheap, but it’s rather short as well: you can easily reach the end in one afternoon evening. Not everything is perfect, there certainly still is some room for improvement, so I’m hoping we’ll see a patch that would address some lingering issues, but the game is still VERY fun and I cannot recommend it enough to everyone.

    When you take into account low price, loads of fun and developers’ quite original approach to fighting piracy that became viral marketing effort, how can you not buy this game? I for one just couldn’t resist.    … Expand
  16. 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
  17. Kempol
    Sep 4, 2013
    8
    fun game to play while you learn about the life of game developers
    the story follow what happened in real life add the fun i this game

    a lot of room for improvement though waiting for updates or sequel
  18. InnocentSam
    Sep 7, 2013
    8
    I played this game for hours and hours and I have to say, very addictive, very simple and very, very good. However, I rate it 8 due to two things; this game would have killer mod support, if it had mod support. Secondly, the features added into the Steam update seem rushed; like you can't view your history of consoles and how they did.

    To sum up, I highly recommend this game, but areas    I played this game for hours and hours and I have to say, very addictive, very simple and very, very good. However, I rate it 8 due to two things; this game would have killer mod support, if it had mod support. Secondly, the features added into the Steam update seem rushed; like you can't view your history of consoles and how they did.

    To sum up, I highly recommend this game, but areas of it could've done much, much better.    … Expand
  19. IdealHuman
    Sep 14, 2013
    8
    I'm very hesitant about giving it an 8. The gameplay itself is really quite fun but there is a lot that needs to be fixed, added, or changed. I would really love to see more settings to customize the game's look a bit more, especially for slower computers. Just as well, 'Game Dev Tycoon' could also do with adding more options for game developing. As of right now, we can't really explainI'm very hesitant about giving it an 8. The gameplay itself is really quite fun but there is a lot that needs to be fixed, added, or changed. I would really love to see more settings to customize the game's look a bit more, especially for slower computers. Just as well, 'Game Dev Tycoon' could also do with adding more options for game developing. As of right now, we can't really explain much of our own concept in the games we develop, leading to poor scores and sales in the game. With future updates, it has potential to be a very good game.… Expand
  20. gamertamer
    Sep 24, 2013
    8
    Yes this game has SIMILARITYS to game dev story but it is not the same and it is not a rip off if anything it is better then game dev story (although I must berate the click anywhere menu as it wouldn't stay open or it would come up when I was trying to select an employee) and on employees their wage raises because that is what would happen it REAL LIFE and yes the engines cost to buildYes this game has SIMILARITYS to game dev story but it is not the same and it is not a rip off if anything it is better then game dev story (although I must berate the click anywhere menu as it wouldn't stay open or it would come up when I was trying to select an employee) and on employees their wage raises because that is what would happen it REAL LIFE and yes the engines cost to build and yes games cost to make. the scores where not based on random numbers they where based on the amount of tech and design in the game and low scores means you need more tech and or design, I do think that there where not enough 'out of the ordinary' things like developing graphics in a hardware lab in the first and second building.
    Yes you need to have correct combinations (unless the popularity is for odd combinations) to get good scores like racing RPG it wont work well and you do need to vary in what you make like instead of making RPG after RPG vary like RPG then casual then sim then RPG.    … Expand
  21. Diddlethumb
    Oct 15, 2013
    8
    This game is pretty amazing, but it's re-playable value is something to argue about. It's genuine, fantastic, and like an advanced Game Dev Story at first, but after a couple of games and getting to know about every single corner about this game, it starts getting repetitive, arduous, and plain boring. It's definitely fun to create your own games and get good reviews from it, but at thisThis game is pretty amazing, but it's re-playable value is something to argue about. It's genuine, fantastic, and like an advanced Game Dev Story at first, but after a couple of games and getting to know about every single corner about this game, it starts getting repetitive, arduous, and plain boring. It's definitely fun to create your own games and get good reviews from it, but at this current moment, it offers too little to play forever. It is a game in development, so I expect great things to come from it in the future, as a game where you can become Nintendo and make mature games and take series like Star Wars is absolutely fun, interesting, and bloody funny can go a long way in the case of an indie game. Oh, and it's only $9.99 worth it indeed if you like this sort of game, but again, it needs updates to become a fabled game like Minecraft.… Expand
  22. IrishAssasinxx
    Dec 26, 2013
    8
    A great game developer studio game, a genre which surprisingly exists but is all the better for it. Game Dev Tycoon uses real life events like the Gameboy, PS1 etc. It has pretty much every main console that was released in the last 30 years including the Xbox One and PS4, it even has a go at future consoles. While the game does have many problems such as large unpredictability whetherA great game developer studio game, a genre which surprisingly exists but is all the better for it. Game Dev Tycoon uses real life events like the Gameboy, PS1 etc. It has pretty much every main console that was released in the last 30 years including the Xbox One and PS4, it even has a go at future consoles. While the game does have many problems such as large unpredictability whether your game will be reviewed well, which tells you how well your sales will be. While the game does take many elements from the iOS and Android game Game Dev Tycoon it improves and modernises most aspects of it to a higher level. I'd give this game a 8/10… Expand
  23. Fanchi
    Nov 7, 2013
    8
    este juego es realmente bueno, no he conocido otro juego que haya desarrollado este "hilo argumental".
    el juego en sí mismo es sencillo de entender y difícil de dominar como ha de ser un buen juego, la historia de fondo del desarrollo de la industria del videojuego y la salida de las diferentes videoconsolas me alucino, si bien es cierto que se han quedado muchas atrás, cosa que se    este juego es realmente bueno, no he conocido otro juego que haya desarrollado este "hilo argumental".
    el juego en sí mismo es sencillo de entender y difícil de dominar como ha de ser un buen juego, la historia de fondo del desarrollo de la industria del videojuego y la salida de las diferentes videoconsolas me alucino, si bien es cierto que se han quedado muchas atrás, cosa que se comprende ya que se empieza en la década de los ochenta, el único fallo que le veo es que el avance de la historia y tu propio avance no están del todo bien ajustado y tal vez debería de avanzar el tiempo un poco más lento permitiéndote pensar un poco más en los movimientos y alargando de paso la experiencia de juego

    totalmente recomendable    … Expand
  24. izerch
    Nov 20, 2013
    8
    I definitely love this game. I can play it for hours. The only thing that i don't like is that at the end of the game you can still playing it and that's all. Yes, you can get more fans, you can get more money, and can still developing games but fall a little bit because it gets boring at that point. That makes me to start a new company and do it again just to see if i can do it better.I definitely love this game. I can play it for hours. The only thing that i don't like is that at the end of the game you can still playing it and that's all. Yes, you can get more fans, you can get more money, and can still developing games but fall a little bit because it gets boring at that point. That makes me to start a new company and do it again just to see if i can do it better. The good thing is that they are actually hearing us and they are working to add new features and really cool stuff. Good job Green Heart… Expand
  25. Allanplays
    Dec 31, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Played Game for 2 or 3 days almost nonstop, very entertaining however after getting past day 30 the first time the game loses most of its fun. The game is fun but has no replay ability and is very repetitive. If you like Sim games you'll love this game if you don't like Sim games you probably wont like it to much if you really get into it trying to get your score from when you end up it can be very grindy at times. The R&D lab is very interesting and cool to play with and so are the Hardware Labs, MMOs, and Extension packs for your MMOs. With Mod capability now it moves from a 7 to a 8 because of how some mods add some really cool things and not many games let modding happen and support it.… Expand
  26. MrRain
    Feb 26, 2014
    8
    The game is great. Yes it's a clone of Game Dev Story but to say it doesn't add anything new is rather arrogant.
    The game might not go deep into the developing stages but at least in this game you can make bad games. In GDS, you can take the most odd of combinations but as long as there's a lot of work behind it, the game still sells.
    It's a little harder than casual but not overly hard.    The game is great. Yes it's a clone of Game Dev Story but to say it doesn't add anything new is rather arrogant.
    The game might not go deep into the developing stages but at least in this game you can make bad games. In GDS, you can take the most odd of combinations but as long as there's a lot of work behind it, the game still sells.
    It's a little harder than casual but not overly hard. It took me about 4 restarts to finally figure out a few formulas to survive. Once you know what they're looking for, it's not too hard to stay alive and expand.
    The game is rather limited but instead of looking at it as a complete game, I think it's better if you look at it as a game built by people who have potential.
    The game is fun and can be very challenging, but I guess no one likes a challenge anymore.    … Expand
  27. Sarcastiman
    May 31, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game shows really much potential into becoming a good game, they have to patch the game though. Some things that annoyed me while playing this was the lack of immersive actions, some interactions with the office itself would be nice. There were so limited options for your office itself and the little events that came throughout your 'carreer' were also very limited. But it the atmosphere of the game itself was surprisingly good. When I played it, it didn't feel very repetitive at all. The game is worth it's buy and to try out, but it isn't a game to keep playing for days. A little bit more options could do the game wonders.… Expand
  28. brightestabyss
    Nov 25, 2015
    8
    I'm quite a fan of Tycoon games and at launch this game was pretty decent, Not great but decent.

    After a couple of updates and adding content such as 'Game Reports' to actually tell you how to make a topic and genre combination correctly as well as how to set your priorities this game has improved incredibly. The early to mid game is the prime moment of this game as it sets a feeling    I'm quite a fan of Tycoon games and at launch this game was pretty decent, Not great but decent.

    After a couple of updates and adding content such as 'Game Reports' to actually tell you how to make a topic and genre combination correctly as well as how to set your priorities this game has improved incredibly.

    The early to mid game is the prime moment of this game as it sets a feeling of discovery, exploration and experimentation to try and find out the best combinations but after that the game starts losing that discovery as it tells you absolutely everything and spoils part of the discovery late game, as you notice you are just 'obeying the numbers' as I call it, Following the set instructions exactly to make the optimal game.

    The Expansion and Modding community really does help you get that feeling of Discovery back to you as you don't exactly know what topic/combination would work (Without applying a certain degree of common sense) but once again. That can go once the Game Reports tell you absolutely everything you need to know again.

    I had a really good experience with this game after the first 40 hours or so and a couple more tens of hours once I installed the mods and for a small indie title it has really impressed me overall. So I'm giving this one a solid 8 judging by its price and value I have got from this game.    … Expand
  29. Steven15ify
    Apr 18, 2015
    8
    Great game, good gameplay and it has a nice feeling to it. Although the gameplay can get repetitive after 15 hours, However they still put new stuff to the game.
  30. 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
Page:

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 »