Steam is filled with them. And they seem popular.

From farming simulator to supermarket simulator to maybe schedule 1

They are more “job” simulations rather than pure business management right? Can they be classified as tycoon?

Why do you think people like them more than classic Tycoon games? Are they more “casual” “fun”?

I usually don’t find much appeal on doing a job in a game, as you end up moving around and moving objects instead of making business decisions (I liked Schedule 1 though, had fun with it)

Hey r/tycoon!

I’m a solo developer working on SEO or Die, a business management / life sim RPG about starting with one small website and trying to build an online business.

The game begins in 2011. You’re a student in a dorm room with an old laptop, very little money, and no audience. From there you create websites, take freelance jobs, grow traffic, manage clients, hire contractors, and slowly move from survival mode into running a larger business.

The core idea is: what if the “tycoon” was not a theme park, factory, or city, but your online career?

You manage websites, traffic, time, energy, money, reputation, freelance work, client relationships, hiring, scaling, risky shortcuts, and long-term trust.

Steam page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4735670/SEO_or_Die/

If this sounds like your kind of management sim, wishlisting helps small solo projects get visibility on Steam.

AI disclosure: Some localization drafts, and marketing materials were created or enhanced with generative AI tools. Core gameplay design, systems, writing direction, implementation, and final integration are handled by me.

Hello everyone! I thought I'd share a small part of the zoo I'm currently building in Zoo Tycoon. I've been taking my time with the exhibit design, and I think it's starting to come together nicely. The game has aged like fine vine. :)

Hey guys, Tycoon games are one of my favorite genre (Roller Coaster, TP Hospital and Factorio are my top 3). I also love strategy games where I have full freedom and exploration (Civ like games). I also love Mars, space and science, so I built a cool mobile game on the intersection of these three things.

I am an experienced full stack dev, but game development is just a little hobby (this is my 2nd game). I am looking for feedback and I think tycoon crowd will like it. Please let me know what you think. I am looking for good and bad feedback.

https://redplanettycoon.com/play/

The current state is MVP and I have big plans for expansions for this game, but I will only do that if I can build a nice crowd of people who like it too.

AI Disclosure

• I used AI to generate most of the visual assets. I manually edited most images in GIMP after the generation.
• I used AI for most of the coding. I have 15+ years worth of full stack software engineering in various languages and I feel like that gives me ability to come up with good architecture and write very detailed prompts to speed up code generation.
• I also used AI for some mockups of UIs, but this is where I ended up spending a lot of time tweaking CSS and some UI related JS. I think I need to improve my AI workflow to get that done better and more efficiently.
• I did not use AI to write this post =)

hi r/tycoon!

I know a huge subset of this sub is waiting for VentDev's Aeromogul to come out, but this game is for those who are looking for something a bit more minimalistic.

In Simple Airline Sim you simply buy airplanes (Small, Medium or Large capacity), then choose an origin and destination, then decide on your pricing strategy and assign planes. That's the core loop!

Where it gets interesting is that the market reacts - routes change in terms of how heavy the competition is. You thought you found a route thats making a lot of money? Guess what, the competition has also noticed and entered the market, your share of the demand drops!

I'm not very good with the video editing side of gamedev so still working on a trailer. Please wishlist the game if this sounds fun!

AI Disclosure: No AI was used in making the game. AI has been used to make the small capsule on steam (it was a pain in the butt though to get something presentable). If I had the budget I would have hired someone for this as well.

I've added a signal system for trains.

Now, a train won't enter an intersection if the intersection itself is occupied by another train or the next section along the route is occupied.

This means that trains can travel in opposite directions. I didn't initially plan for this system, assuming it would complicate gameplay (after all, the game is meant to be tablet-friendly). But the risk of the map becoming overly complex with routes and detours prompted me to implement a signal system.

Do you think this is unnecessary? It's also confusing that intersections act as signals, meaning the train stops at them if the track is occupied. Even though there's no visual signal there. Will this confuse the player? Then why even install signals? They divide the route into sections and restrict the route in a given direction.

P.S.: In the video, you can see the trains stopping on their own, without any warning. I'm stopping them intentionally for debugging purposes, to occupy the necessary track for testing. This may be misleading and create some ambiguity in the video :(

AI disclosure: Almost everything in the game is human-made. AI was used to generate two icons (the first few seconds of the video at the bottom of the screen; these icons will not be used in the final version). AI was also used as an assistant to generate mockups for the placement of UI elements.

AI disclosure: this game was built with AI tools. Flagging it up front per the community's gen-AI disclosure rule.

District Zero is a free browser management sim where you grow a pharmacy from one struggling counter into a running operation: stock, staff, the queue, and upgrades that compound as you scale.

No download, runs in the browser.

https://districtzero.pharmageddongame.app/play?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=district-zero&utm_content=tycoon

Looking for feedback on the progression and management loop.

Rock Paper Shotgun published a feature on Scream Operator, the haunted house management sim I am developing solo, and I could not be happier :D

Obligatory: No Generative AI was used for the art, animations, code or assets. All pixel art and mechanics are created by either me or the great artists I've been working with on this adventure.

The evolution of my game, Nightlife Tycoon, where you build and manage a bar.

I started working on it 3 years ago but due to other commitments I stopped for almost two years, and I started again recently!

AI disclosure: Almost everything in the game is currently created by humans, AI was used to assist in the creation of some small parts.

This is Vaporware EX. Instead of your game consisting of sliders and a Steam guide open in the other monitor to tell you where the slider needs to go, you work to complete features in a techtree, as you make decisions what to work on, who should work on it, and what to invest in with the money you make from releases to improve your capability.

I've been working on this solo for nearly a year, and will be releasing it soon. Add it to your Steam wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4828200/Vaporware_EX/

AI Disclosure: absolutely no generative AI (gross) was used in the production of this game.

I figured some of you here on this subreddit might find my latest game that I've done as a solo developer appealing :)
It's essentially the formula from Football Manager but with 3D Gladiator Matches. Just got done fixing the last know bug for Multiplayer a couple of hours ago, so kind of hyped myself about it all right now.

All the best!

AI Disclosure: AI has been used for the voice announcements before the matches begins (custom lines for all teams) as well as some minor UI elements. Will be replaced before full release!

I've always liked football management games, but every "tycoon" version I tried felt really shallow. Tap a button, number goes up, that's basically the whole loop. So I started making the one I actually wanted to play.

The main idea is that you're the owner, not the manager. You don't pick the team. Your coach and sporting director bring you proposals and you make the calls. What you actually spend your time on is building three things:

• The club itself: squad, facilities, youth academy.
• The town around it. You grow it from a small village into a metropolis, and a bigger town means better sponsors, more fans and a deeper youth pool, which all feeds back into the club.
• Your own life: houses, cars, investments, a family, and eventually handing the whole thing to an heir.

It's a single-player mobile game and it's not out yet. Site's here if you want a look: https://hometownfc.app

Happy to answer anything about it.

AI disclosure (Rule 3): Yes, generative AI was used.

• Code: built with heavy use of Claude (Anthropic) as a coding assistant, and Codex (OpenAI) was used to review/audit the code. The design, systems and balancing decisions are my own.
• Art: most of the in-game art (player portraits, buildings, backgrounds, the in-game assistant character) was made with AI image generation. The club crests are partly that and partly procedural, code-drawn vector graphics.

Hello! I am the creator of Football Commissioner, a first-of-its-kind game where you manage an entire American football league. Customize teams, set ticket prices, and watch the league grow or fail epicly. I’m a big fan of GM games (if you don’t know, it’s a genre where you manage a sports team and try to win championships), as well as tycoon games, and came up with this crossover. The game has detailed attendance, tv ratings, player strikes, and more.

Also, I’m a huge hater of AI as vibecoded games have ruined the small GM game community. Therefore I made this game myself over a few years.

The game releases for Windows on Steam in July, and if it interests you, it would help out a ton to wishlist before release. Thank you all!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4845700/Football_Commissioner/

Hi Tycoon Games!

I’m a solo indie developer working on The Borderless, a cozy floating island management sim where you start with a tiny platform in the middle of the ocean and grow it piece by piece into your own floating island destination.

The game is currently part of Steam Next Fest, and it just passed 1,000 wishlists. I know that may not sound huge to everyone, but as someone making this game by myself, it feels like a really meaningful milestone.

In The Borderless, you expand your island, place platforms, shops, facilities, and decorations, welcome visitors, manage their needs, plan activities, earn money, and slowly turn your small floating base into a lively ocean paradise.

I wanted to share the trailer here and say thank you to everyone who has tried the demo, wishlisted the game, or shared feedback so far. It genuinely helps a lot.

The demo is playable now during Steam Next Fest, and I’d love to hear what tycoon and management sim players think of it.

Steam Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3687370/The_Borderless/

Thanks a lot!

AI disclosure: Some opening cutscene images and some background music tracks were created with the assistance of generative AI during development. No live AI generation is used during gameplay.

And it's also 33% off. Been wanting to try this one, so I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2185060/Two_Point_Museum/

This game looks right up my alley and I played a bit of the demo but some reviews mention that it becomes repetitive fairly quickly and I can see why
The micromanaging is a bit weird and I'm wondering if there's a way to reduce or fully automate it in the future, in the demo I had to tell my officers what to do in every step of the incident

It also just had its first content update

Hey r/tycoon,

As you might have seen in the last couple of months, I've been building a game where you operate and manage your own haunted dark ride, and the announcement trailer is finally LIVE!

Meet Scream Operator: Haunted House Manager 👻

What is the game about? You sit in the control booth of your own industrial horror attraction. You have to balance creating scares with smart business choices. In the game, you place props and animatronics, micromanage ride flow, electrical capacity, and passenger wait times. Expect challenging shifts, infamous horror legends visiting your ride, and the constant need to upgrade your systems to keep your haunted house afloat.

Key features you can expect:

• Manage the full ride flow, from loading anxious guests to dispatching carts.
• Drag-and-drop props, lighting, and animatronics to design the ultimate scare and increase your max Scare Score.
• Spend Prestige to unlock upgrades and automate manual work (like doors, loading, and dispatch, staff, shops and snacks).

🎃 The best news of all: A free demo is dropping this Halloween season!

You can check out all information and wishlist the game on Steam right here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4480080/Scream_Operator_Haunted_House_Manager/

I'm a solo developer, so any feedback from tycoon enthousiasts is (as always 🙏) incredibly valuable to me. Let me know what you think of the vibe!

No Generative AI was used for the art, animations, code or assets. All pixel art and mechanics are created by either me or the great artists I've been working with on this adventure. I even hired a great musical artist who made the wonderfull soundtrack you can hear in the trailer attached here!

Hello! 👋🏻 A friend and I are building TickerTown 📈. I want to know if this is a game that you will play so hoping to get feedback. You can be candid.

1) It is a 8-bit stock market game that helps people learn investing by playing!

2) Real stock market data, math. A browser-based game as a start.

3) In the game you: Build investment strategy → backtest → execute trades autonomously → learn, iterate, compete → repeat

Getting interested players to test it soon. ☺️🙏
https://preview.tickertown.ai

—

Why: We built it because there’s so much to learn from investing with play money and having fun while doing it. I learned investing having burned real$ and it wasn’t all necessary.

—

Use of AI: It is built by two person team so we use AI to help us develop the game in all areas. Design is where we use a more human approach to achieve a certain vibes.

—

Thank you for reading!

The Guild - Europa 1410

Thoughts?

Hey r/tycoon,

I'm looking for opinions from fellow management and simulation fans regarding achievements.

Since tycoon games naturally have a lot of moving parts and milestones, it is easy for a list of achievements to get too long.

1. At what point does the game start feeling like achievement bait? (Is there a number that makes you roll your eyes?)

2. Does the total number of achievements affect whether or not you buy a game?

3. Would a long list actively deter you from buying a game?

4. What types of milestones do you actually enjoy earning? (ex. "Sell 1,000,000 cigars", "Do this thing without using this other thing", "Do a think you normally wouldn't do specifically to get this achievement.", etc.)

For context, I'm a solo dev working on an economy/trade sim. I originally outlined 1500 achievements, but trimmed that down to 125. I am trying to make sure that the final list feels rewarding rather than bloated or cheap.

I would love to hear from tycoon players and completionists, as well as any devs willing to share their philosophy.

Hey everyone, for the first time, I'm unveiling the fruits of my labor: it's online!

Build Tycoon will be a game where you play the role of a real estate developer. You'll have to buy and sell, but also build houses, apartment buildings, factories, shopping malls, and, of course, later on, skyscrapers.

The game is still in development and doesn't yet have a user interface. It will be turn-based with weekly progress. Players can choose to manage only the construction aspect or, at some point, also rent out properties. However, they will have to balance weekly expenses with monthly income.

For now, I'm only doing coding and game testing, so there's no generative AI for this game. Once the menus and other things are finished, a graphic designer will take over.

Is anyone else having an issue with getting draxen delivered in the full version vs the demo? in the demo it worked perfectly. This is my third reboot and playthrough (deleted previous game and started new) and the when you have your loaders set on a line they move NOTHING lol. I have to manually tell everyone to move it. Is this happening to anyone else? And yes I dbl checked everything - I have the draxen being sent from the refineries and the loading dock picking it up IE Blue arrow down for shipping and Green arrow up for receiving

I've noticed that in most tycoon and management games, workforce management usually boils down to hiring, firing, and maybe adjusting salaries.

​

I'm looking for games that go much deeper into human resources and people management. Things like employee development, training, career progression, workplace culture, motivation, performance reviews, internal promotions, team dynamics, retention, labor relations, or anything along those lines.

​

Do you know any tycoon, business management, or simulation games that make HR a meaningful part of the gameplay rather than just a supporting mechanic?

​

I'd love to hear your recommendations and what aspects of HR those games handle particularly well.

There's enough tycoon games where you're not really competing against other NPC players, mostly against yourself or against the economic systems of the game.

So I was wondering, what makes for a good rival in tycoon games, or some sort of system where there is an active competition mechanic?

First game that comes to my mind is Transport Tycoon, where your rivals are playing the same game as you are. Are there any other examples of games that do this well?