Game Dev Tycoon Wiki

Welcome to the official wiki for Game Dev Tycoon! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to go from a garage developer to a legendary studio owner.

Gameplay Basics 🎮

The goal of Game Dev Tycoon is to create successful video games, grow your fanbase, earn money, and build a world-class development studio. You'll start in 1980 with a small amount of cash and work your way through the history of the games industry.

The Core Loop

1. Develop a Game: Click the Develop Game button to start a new project. You'll choose a name, genre, platform, and game engine.

2. Development: The game will develop over time. The speed and quality depend on your staff's skills, your game engine's power, and other upgrades.

3. Release & Review: Once development is finished, your game will be released to the public and receive a review score out of 10.

4. Earn Money & Fans: Based on the score, hype, and market conditions, your game will generate sales and attract new fans.

5. Reinvest: Use your profits to Research new technologies, hire better Staff, create custom Game Engines, and buy Upgrades for your studio.

6. Repeat: Create bigger and better games to become a true Game Dev Tycoon!

How Game Scoring & Sales Work 📈

The success of your game is determined by its final score. This is the most important mechanic to understand!

A game's score is calculated based on several factors:

• Platform & Genre Combination (CRITICAL!): Every platform has genres it likes (❤️) and dislikes (💔). Matching a liked genre with a platform provides a major score bonus, while a disliked combo results in a major penalty.

• Quality Bonus: This is a combination of:

  • Game Engine: A better engine with more features provides a higher bonus.

  • Staff Skill: The total skill level of all your staff members.

  • Staff Specialization: Staff members who specialize in the genre you're making provide a significant bonus.

• Market Trend: If your game's genre matches the current Market Trend, your sales will be boosted by 50%. Trends change every few months.

• Hype: This is generated by your Marketing budget and by creating Sequels to high-scoring games. More hype leads to more sales.

• Fans: Your existing fanbase will contribute to the initial sales of your new games.

Platforms & Genres

Choosing the right combination is key to getting a high score. New platforms and genres must be unlocked through Research.

Building Your Studio

Success isn't just about one hit game; it's about building a powerful studio.

Research

This is your primary way to advance. Use money to research:

• New Genres: Unlock more creative options for your games (Tycoon, Obby, Wild West, etc.).

• New Platforms: Gain access to new markets like Consoles, Phones, and VR.

• Engine Features: Unlock new technologies (2D Graphics V2, Stereo Sound, Basic AI) that you can add to your custom game engines.

Game Engines

While you start with a "Default Engine," your real power comes from creating your own.

1. Create an Engine: Pay $50,000 to create a new, named game engine.

2. Add Features: Use the Research menu to research engine features. You can then add these researched features to your custom engines, increasing their quality bonus for every game you make with them.

Hiring Staff 🧑‍💻

You can't do it all alone. Hire staff to improve your games.

• Roles: Staff can be Programmers (who slightly increase development speed) or Artists.

• Skill: A rating from 1-10 that contributes to the quality of your games. You can pay to train staff to increase their skill.

• Specialization: Each staff member has a genre they are good at. Using them on a game of that genre provides a significant quality bonus!

• Office Upgrades: You start with a maximum of 4 staff members. You can buy upgrades to increase this limit.

Upgrades

These are permanent improvements for your studio.

• Better PC: Increases overall development speed.

• Bigger Office: Increases your maximum staff capacity.

Advanced Strategies

Sequels and DLC

• Sequels: If a game scores an 8/10 or higher, you can develop a sequel. Sequels get an automatic hype bonus, leading to better sales.

• DLC: You can create DLC for any released game. It costs $5,000 and provides an immediate injection of cash and fans based on the original game's success.

Random Events

Be prepared for the unexpected! Random events can occur at any time, providing you with a sudden cash injection, a temporary quality boost for your next game, or a costly bug that drains your funds.