Image via Frontier Developments
It's hard to define a tycoon game other than an economic strategy about resource management, which seems almost too serious for a video game. While there have been plenty of great tycoon games over the years, we've focused on modern titles.
Best Tycoon Games on PC
Planet Zoo (2019)
Image via Frontier Developments
In Planet Zoo, you build and manage a zoo, and the variety of animals available to players is huge. All the creatures look great, with great graphics and animations. The core of the gameplay is economic strategy, like in many other tycoon games, but you can freely build your dream zoo in sandbox mode with unlimited resources.
There is also a campaign mode where you manage a pre-created zoo, have to acquire different types of animals, bread them and take care of people who visit the zoo. By far one of the best tycoon games out there.
Tropic 6 (2019)
Image via Limbic Entertainment
Tropico 6 is another installment of Tropico Franchise which started in 2001. The game revolves around being a leader of the banana republic – El Presidente. It's all about dictatorship, but there's a lot of humor beneath the surface. For the first time in the series, we're managing not just one, but multiple islands at the same time, which makes the game a bit more complex than before. It's still about ruling the whole city with an iron fist, and everything you do will impact the virtual society.
- Available in Xbox Game Pass subscription (from September 2021)
Jurassic World Evolution (2018)
Image via Frontier Developments
Jurassic World Evolution is an exciting adventure that relies on your creativity and problem solving. It is a strategy game following a popular tycoon genre. In Jurassic World Evolution, you are responsible for building your own Jurassic Park, like a dinosaur zoo.
You must track all the species you own, research new technologies, and discover new types of dinosaurs. Each one requires attention, because if the dinosaurs get angry or dislike the environment and/or people, then they might burst, causing panic and destruction all around.
Related: Top 5 Best Dinosaur Games On PC (2021)
Planet Coaster (2016)
Image via Frontier Developments
The third and final game from Frontier Developments is on Planet Coaster's list. They continue to prove that they really know how to make a great tycoon game. Planet Coaster is the classic tycoon game about running your own theme park with plenty of rides and resource management to attract as many people as possible to see what you've created.
Your main goal is to create a successful theme park and play with the mechanics given to you by the developers. More than four years after the original release, the game was also recently released on consoles.
Cities: Skylines (2015)
Image via colossal order
Considering that the criteria for tycoon games are very broad, I wanted to include a game about creating your own city full of roads, skyscrapers, factories, schools, and other facilities.
Cities: Skylines is primarily just a city builder, but one of the best out there. It's your job to create a perfect city in normal mode or full creative mode with unlimited resources. There are many similar games out there, but Cities: Skylines has a great modding community that allows for ongoing support and the introduction of new content whenever you want.
- Available in Xbox Game Pass subscription (from September 2021)
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Valley of Stars (2016)
I wanted to make the main list focusing on the tycoon aspects, but it would be criminal not to mention Stardew Valley as that game is a huge hit and could count as a farming tycoon.
The idea behind it, combined with people wanting to escape into a colorful and vibrant world, made the game a mega-hit. It's about maintaining your farm, building relationships with other town members, fishing, mining, trading, and managing your energy as a resource. It's an awesome world that sucks you in for many hours.
The Sims 4 (2014)
The Sims is one of the most popular simulation franchises. I wanted to include this episode because it is the most recent and the most popular. Throughout the series, it's all about simulating life.
You can buy or build a house, manage one or more people, and even have an entire family with pets if you have the appropriate DLCs. You just have to play "life" to find the balance between virtual work, household chores and entertainment activities. The game lets you play out unlikely scenarios in real life, like becoming a secret spy, for example.
- Available in Xbox Game Pass subscription (from September 2021, as part of EA Play)
RimWorld (2018)
RimWorld is a unique phenomenon that has gained huge popularity and a fanbase over the years. The game deserves a mention because it introduced so many people to the whole genre of economic strategy which is also a core mechanic of any tycoon game.
In RimWorld, we manage a space colony. It is more about people than buildings. The game was in early access for over four years, starting in 2014, and was fully released only three years ago in 2018. It's currently a PC-exclusive game, but hopefully in the future, it will also be released on consoles. because it deserves all the attention, and more accessibility is always a good thing.
Surviving Mars (2018)
Surviving Mars is a great twist on the entire city-building genre. In the game, you are responsible for building a colony on Mars and managing resources to expand civilization. Creating a colony that would let people enter the facilities and inhabit the environment is a difficult task, but it's all about strategy and resource management. For example, to get water, your machines must reach underground sources, then you must connect them using specific pipes and distribute it correctly.
For more tycoon games articles, check out How to Upgrade Your Home in Stardew Valley as well as Roblox My Zoo Tycoon Codes (September 2021).
