Your staff is your most valuable asset. A bad team will kill a good game.

❌ Releasing on at once (kills quality). ❌ Hiring too fast (2–3 devs max before year 6). ❌ Ignoring bugs – always leave 2 months for bug fixing. ❌ Making a Huge game before year 12 – it will crash your studio.

Pairing a topic with a matching genre triggers a multiplier that boosts your final score.

Action/Sci-Fi, RPG/Fantasy, Simulation/Airplane, Strategy/Military, Adventure/Detective, and Casual/Virtual Pet.

Save 2–3 months before releasing. Use that time to polish twice.

: Matching the genre to the right platform (e.g., Simulation games perform best on PC).

The algorithm punishes "no significant innovation" harder than releasing a mediocre new IP. Why? Because players expect evolution , not repetition. A safe sequel saves three months of dev time but costs you six months of reputation recovery.

Achieving elite status means setting your development phase sliders perfectly. The percentages below represent the optimal allocation of time and resources for the major genres. Phase 1: Engine, Gameplay, and Story Engine (100%) | Gameplay (80%) | Story/Quests (0%) RPG: Engine (0%) | Gameplay (80%) | Story/Quests (100%)

RPG + Cyberpunk on PC, Large scope, 4 devs, 14 months dev time → Score: 10/10, Sales: 2.3M copies.

Sales plummeted. Worse, our fan base—the loyal players who made Zombie Chef a cult hit—felt betrayed.

Maintain your team's energy levels by rotating staff onto training courses between major projects.

In Game Dev Tycoon , reviews are calculated by: (Graphics + Gameplay + Story + Sound) / 4 - (Bugs * 0.75)

Each genre has a preferred focus. Action games require high Technology , while Adventure games require high Design . 2. Unlocking AAA and R&D Capabilities