This is a comprehensive index of city-building games, sorted chronologically.Information regarding date of release, developer, platform, setting and notability is provided when available.
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This is a comprehensive index of city-building games, sorted chronologically. Information regarding date of release, developer, platform, setting and notability is provided when available. The table can be sorted by clicking on the small boxes next to the column headings.
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List[edit]
| Year | Game | Developer | Setting | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Sumer Game | Richard Merrill | Historical | MAIN | |
| 1975 | Hamurabi | David H. Ahl | Historical | MAIN | Expanded version of The Sumer Game. Published later as part of BASIC Computer Games. |
| 1978 | Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio | Historical | MAIN | ||
| 1981 | Kingdom (Also known as Yellow River Kingdom)[1] | David Allen[2] | Historical | BBC | A conversion of the game 'Hamurabi', it was included as part of welcome package to BBC Microcomputers. |
| 1982 | Utopia | Don Daglow | Contemporary | AQUA, INT | |
| 1989 | SimCity | Maxis, Nintendo EAD, Babaroga | Contemporary | AMI, ARC, BBC, C64, CDTV, CPC, DESQ, DOS, EPOC32, FMT, GBA, iPod, LIN, MAC, MOBI (iPhone, JAVAME, SYB), NeWS, OS2, PC98, SNES, ST, Tk, UNIX, VC, WIN, XO1, X11, ZX | First title in the series. |
| 1990 | ActRaiser | Quintet | Fantasy | MOBI, SNES, VC | Hybrid with side-scrolling platform game. |
| 1990 | Moonbase | Wesson | Sci-fi | AMI, DOS | |
| 1991 | Utopia: The Creation of a Nation | Celestial | Sci-fi | AMI, DOS, SNES, ST | |
| 1992 | Caesar | Impressions | Historical | AMI, DOS, ST | First title in the series. |
| 1993 | Stronghold | Stormfront | Fantasy | DOS | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 1993 | SimCity 2000 | Maxis, Full Fat | Contemporary | AMI, DOS, GBA, MAC, N64, PS1, PSP, SAT, SNES | Sequel to SimCity. |
| 1993 | Lunar Command | Wesson | Sci-fi | DOS | Updated version of Moonbase. |
| 1993 | The Settlers (a.k.a. Serf City: Life is Feudal) | Blue Byte | Fantasy | AMI, DOS | First title in the series. |
| 1994 | Outpost | Sierra | Sci-fi | MAC, WIN3X | Sci-fi version of SimCity. |
| 1995 | SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest | Intelligent | Contemporary | DOS, MAC, WIN3X | |
| 1995 | SimTown | Maxis | Contemporary | MAC, WIN, WIN3X | |
| 1995 | Caesar II | Impressions | Historical | MAC, WIN | Sequel to Caesar. |
| 1996 | Afterlife | LucasArts | Fantasy | DOS, MAC, WIN9X | |
| 1996 | Holiday Island | Sunflowers | Contemporary | WIN9X | |
| 1996 | Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | DOS, DS, MAC | Sequel to The Settlers. Nintendo DS port was released in 2007. |
| 1996 | Settlers II Mission CD, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | DOS | Expansion to The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici. |
| 1997 | Constructor | System 3 | Contemporary | PS1, WIN | |
| 1998 | Anno 1602: Creation of a New World | Max | Historical | WIN9X | First title in the series. Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 1998 | Settlers III, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN9X | Sequel to The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici. |
| 1998 | Caesar III | Impressions | Historical | MAC, WIN9X, Not | Sequel to Caesar II. |
| 1999 | Lincity | Various | Contemporary | CROSS | Open source clone of Sim City. |
| 1999 | Pharaoh | Impressions | Historical | WIN9X | |
| 1999 | SimCity 3000 | Maxis | Contemporary | DS, iPhone, LIN, MAC, WIN | Sequel to SimCity 2000. |
| 2000 | Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile | Impressions | Historical | WIN9X | Expansion to Pharaoh. |
| 2000 | Master of Olympus: Zeus | Impressions | Fantasy | WIN | |
| 2000 | SimCity 64 | HAL | Contemporary | N64 | Spin-off of the SimCity series. |
| 2000 | SimCity 3000 Unlimited | Maxis | Contemporary | LIN, WIN | Re-release of SimCity 3000. |
| 2000 | StarPeace | Oceanus | Sci-fi | WIN | MMOG. |
| 2001 | StarTopia | Mucky Foot | Sci-fi | WIN | |
| 2001 | Mobility | Glamus | Contemporary | WIN, LIN | |
| 2001 | Master of Atlantis: Poseidon | Impressions | Fantasy | WIN | Expansion to Master of Olympus: Zeus. |
| 2001 | Tropico | PopTop | Contemporary | MAC, OSX, WIN, WIN9X | |
| 2001 | Stronghold | Firefly Studios | Fantasy | WIN | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2001 | Settlers IV, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Sequel to The Settlers III. |
| 2002 | Metropolismania | Media Factory | Contemporary | PS2 | First title in the series. |
| 2002 | Tropico: Paradise Island | BreakAway | Contemporary | WIN, WIN9X | Expansion to Tropico. |
| 2002 | Moonbase Commander | Humongous | Sci-fi | WIN | |
| 2002 | Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom | BreakAway, Impressions | Historical | WIN | |
| 2003 | SimCity 4 | Maxis | Contemporary | OSX, WIN | Sequel to SimCity 3000. |
| 2003 | SimCity 4: Rush Hour | Maxis | Contemporary | OSX, WIN | Expansion to SimCity 4. |
| 2003 | Anno 1503: The New World | Max | Historical | WIN9X, WIN | Sequel to Anno 1602: Creation of a New World. Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2003 | Tropico 2: Pirate Cove | Frog City | Historical | OSX, WIN | |
| 2003 | Anno 1503: Treasures, Monsters and Pirates | Max | Historical | WIN | Expansion to Anno 1503: The New World. |
| 2004 | Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile | Tilted Mill | Historical | WIN | |
| 2004 | Outpost Kaloki X | NinjaBee | Sci-fi | WIN, X360 | |
| 2005 | Settlers: Heritage of Kings, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Sequel to The Settlers IV. |
| 2005 | Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand | Monte Cristo | Historical | WIN | |
| 2005 | Stronghold 2 | Firefly Studios | Fantasy | WIN | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2005 | Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Expansion Disk, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Expansion to The Settlers: Heritage of Kings. |
| 2005 | Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Legends Expansion Disk, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Expansion to The Settlers: Heritage of Kings. |
| 2006 | CivCity: Rome | Firefly, Firaxis | Historical | WIN | |
| 2006 | Caesar IV | Tilted Mill | Historical | WIN | Sequel to Caesar III. |
| 2006 | Tycoon City: New York | Deep Red | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2006 | Dwarf Fortress | Bay 12 Games | Fantasy | WIN, LIN, MAC | |
| 2006 | City Life | Monte Cristo | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2006 | Anno 1701 | Related | Historical | DS, WIN | Sequel to Anno 1503: The New World Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2006 | Glory of the Roman Empire | Haemimont | Historical | WIN | |
| 2006 | Settlers II 10th Anniversary, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Remake of The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici. |
| 2007 | Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery | Keen | Historical | DS | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2007 | Settlers: Rise of an Empire, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Sequel to The Settlers: Heritage of Kings. |
| 2007 | Anno 1701: The Curse of the Dragon | Related | Historical | DS | Expansion to Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2007 | SimCity Societies | Tilted Mill | Contemporary | MOBI, WIN | Spin-off of the SimCity series. |
| 2007 | Settlers II: 10th Anniversary - The Vikings, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Expansion to The Settlers II 10th Anniversary. |
| 2008 | A Kingdom for Keflings | Ninja Bee | Fantasy | X360 | |
| 2008 | Micropolis | Don Hopkins | Contemporary | CROSS | Open source version of SimCity. |
| 2008 | SimCity DS 2 | Contemporary | DS | . | |
| 2008 | SimCity Societies: Destinations | Tilted Mill | Contemporary | WIN | Expansion to SimCity Societies. |
| 2008 | Hinterland | Tilted Mill | Fantasy | WIN | Hybrid with RPG elements |
| 2008 | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King | Square Enix | Fantasy | Wii | Hybrid with RPG elements |
| 2008 | Settlers: Rise of an Empire - The Eastern Realm, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | WIN | Expansion to The Settlers: Rise of an Empire. |
| 2008 | Imperium Romanum | Haemimont | Historical | WIN | Sequel to Glory of the Roman Empire. |
| 2009 | Grand Ages: Rome | Haemimont | Historical | WIN | Sequel to Imperium Romanum. |
| 2009 | Anno 1404 | Related, Ubisoft, Blue Byte | Historical | WIN, OSX, DS, Wii | Sequel to Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery. Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2009 | Tropico 3 | Haemimont Games | Contemporary | OSX, WIN, X360 | Successor to Tropico. |
| 2009 | Cities XL | Monte Cristo | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2009 | OpenCity | Duong-Khang Nguyen | Contemporary | CROSS | Open source. A development version is available. |
| 2010 | Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, The | Blue Byte | Fantasy | OSX, WIN | Sequel to The Settlers: Rise of an Empire. |
| 2010 | A World of Keflings | Ninja Bee | Fantasy | X360 | |
| 2010 | Cities XL 2011 | Focus Home Interactive | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2011 | Anno 2070 | Related Designs | Sci-fi | WIN | |
| 2011 | Tropico 4 | Haemimont Games | Contemporary | WIN, X360, OSX | |
| 2011 | Cities XL 2012 | Focus Home Interactive | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2011 | Stronghold 3 | Firefly Studios | Fantasy | WIN, OSX, LIN | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2013 | SimCity | Maxis | Contemporary | WIN, OSX | Relaunch of Simcity Series. |
| 2014 | Banished | Shining Rock Software | Historical | WIN | |
| 2014 | Tropico 5 | Haemimont Games | Contemporary | WIN, OSX, LIN, X360, PS4[3] | |
| 2014 | Stronghold Crusader 2 | Firefly Studios | Fantasy | WIN | Hybrid with RTS elements. |
| 2014 | Clockwork Empires | Gaslamp Games | Fantasy | WIN | |
| 2015 | Cities: Skylines | Colossal Order | Contemporary | WIN, OSX, LIN, PS4, XOne, NSW | Based on the engine used for Cities in Motion 2 |
| 2015 | Cities XXL | Focus Home Interactive | Contemporary | WIN | |
| 2015 | Anno 2205 | Blue Byte | Sci-Fi | WIN | Sequel to Anno 2070 |
| 2018 | Surviving Mars | Haemimont Games | Sci-Fi | WIN, OSX, LIN, PS4, XOne | |
| 2018 | Frostpunk | 11 bit studios | Sci-Fi | WIN | |
| 2019 | Dawn of Man | Madruga Works | Historical | WIN, OSX | Prehistoric city builder that takes place from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age. |
| 2019 | Tropico 6 | Limbic Entertainment | Contemporary | WIN, OSX, LIN, PS4, XOne | |
| 2019 | Islanders | Grizzly Games | Fantasy | WIN, OSX, LIN | Casual city builder with low-poly aesthetic |
| 2019 | Anno 1800 | Blue Byte | Historical | WIN | |
| 2019 | Rise to Ruins | Raymond Doerr | Fantasy | WIN, OSX, LIN | Indie city-builder with survival and god game elements |
| 2020 | Builders of Egypt | Strategy Labs | Historical | WIN | Ancient Egypt city builder that will take place from the birth of Egyptian Civilization to the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Cleopatra's death. |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Welcome for BBC Micro (1981) - MobyGames'. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^http://bbc.nvg.org/doc/Welcome.pdf
- ^'9 Ways To Dictate Like A Pro In Tropico 5 on PS4'. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
The vast quantity of PC games on the market means that some relatively niche genres can gain strong support.
Nothing showcases this more than Paradox’s Cities: Skylines, which brought the city-building genre back into the spotlight.
After SimCity’s failure to launch, Cities: Skylines graciously stepped in with a revolutionary city-building game that featured a ton of new content.
The genre has seen a few different approaches to tycoon mechanics, although there hasn’t been much variety in terms of developers. Most major city-building games were developed by experienced city-builder specialists such as Impressions Games or Maxis.
We have unearthed some of the greatest city-building games of all time according to their GameRankingsand Metacriticscores.
N.B. Metacritic rankings are not an accurate measurement of games released before the year 2000.
Caesar III
Caesar III is the biggest success of all the Impressions Games ancient city-builders.
The game is set in the ancient Roman Empire, and the player is a governor in service to Caesar. The campaign sees the player building cities in various locations and can present quite a challenge to new players.
The game is the most highly-rated out of all the Impressions Games city-builders and takes the top spot on this list.
Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is the most recent revolution in city-building titles.
Paradox Interactive, a studio renowned for their work on complex titles such as Crusader Kings and Pillars of Eternity, turned their sights towards the city-building genre and created Cities: Skylines, expertly filling the gap left by the latest SimCity.
The game has been been well-received and is regarded as the best recent city-building title.
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 was Maxis’ best game in the SimCity franchise.
A fairly modern entry, the game features all the best mechanics of the SimCity series without any of the annoyances and hindrances some titles possessed.
Retaining all the charm of the Sims universe, the game is still the best in the franchise.
Settlers II
Caesar Iii Pc
Settlers II ranks high amongst city-building fans, although the game has since forgone town management in favour of combat.
Settlers II is very different to modern Settlers games, and focuses more on the management and city-building side gameplay, offering increased depth in lieu of a faster pace.
Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery)
Anno 1404 (or Dawn of Discovery as it is known in the United States) is a favourite amongst more competitive city-building fans.
The game features a perfect mix of of exploration and town management, allowing players to build multiple cities on different islands and create trade routes between them.
The main attraction of this city-builder is its expansion pack – titled Venice.
Anno 1404: Venice features multiplayer, allowing multiple players to build on the same map and interact in a way that has still not been surpassed by another city-building game.
Tropico
Tropico is an old favourite among city-building fans.
Players assume the role of a dictator who has complete power over a tropical island filled with politics, humour and challenges.
The entire series has provided solid city-building games, with the first iteration being the highest-rated of the franchise.
Honourable Mentions
Although the above games were generally received well by critics, the majority of city-building games cater to different audiences and score more mixed reviews.
Below are a few city-builders which scored decently, but unfortunately not high enough to compete with the front-runners.
Banished
Zeus: Master of Olympus
SimCity 3000
Pharaoh
Tropico 5
Anno 2070
What is your favourite city-building game? Let us know in the comments and forums.