Game Dev Tycoon
Give it 3 hours
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 5 reviews are negative (19%); after 10h it's 1 in 35 (3%).
- Fully opens up by hour 7.
- 38% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Game Dev Tycoon”: only 38% of starters get there.
- 98% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 45,291 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 11h for positive, 5.5h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (97.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Game Dev Tycoon Finish Game Dev Tycoon. Most players quit here 38% −62
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (35)
story milestone ending side
- Supporter Support a young start-up. Buy the game. 100%
- Good Judgement Create a game with a good topic/genre combination. 99%
- 100K Engine Invest over 100K in a new game engine. 86%
- Famous Hire someone famous. 75%
- Cult Status Set a new standard for the early gaming industry. 73%
- Professional Reach level 5 with a character. 72%
- Gold Sell half a million copies of a game without the help of a publisher. 72%
- Diversity Have male and female staff. 71%
- 500K Engine Invest over 500K in a new game engine. 62%
- Platinum Sell one million copies of a game without the help of a publisher. 59%
- 1M Engine Invest over one million in a new game engine. 51%
- Versatile Release a successful game in each of the five main genres. 50%
- Full House Have the maximum number of employees. 49%
- Writer's Block Naming games is sometimes difficult. 42%
- Diamond Sell ten million copies of a game without the help of a publisher. 38%
- Game Dev Tycoon Finish Game Dev Tycoon. 38%
- Perfect Game Release a game with a clean score of 10. 33%
- Legend Reach level 10 with a character. 28%
- Eat Cake Show them red barrels some action. 22%
- Inception Develop the game within the game. 21%
- Fan Pick an inspired company name. 15%
- Detective Find at least one of the easter eggs in the game. 13%
- Turn it up to 11 Get a reviewer to give you a 11/10 rating. 11%
- Unobtainium (seriously?) Sell one hundred million copies of a game without the help of a publisher. 8.9%
- Treasure Hunter Activate the hidden treasure in the garage. 8.7%
- Admirer Fun fact: We almost named our company Megaflop Productions! 6.1%
- Welcome to Mars How did I get here? Why is there a chainsaw? Who cares! 5.9%
- Welcome Chief This world is round but different. 4.9%
- Bluehair reporting for space duty Little known fact: Cats go all aggro in space. 4.4%
- Best ride to work ever Workplace safety anyone? 4.0%
- Welcome to your hospital Patients are reminded not to die in the corridors. 3.9%
- The sky is not the limit. Welcome back Chris. We've missed you. 3.6%
- Painting with nature. Pay homage to a specific Japanese video game. 3.4%
- Statistical Anomaly Reach level 2 in pirate mode. 3.4%
- Against all odds Beat all odds and finish the game in pirate mode. 1.6%