The Best Tycoon Games on Steam Money Can Buy!
The Best Tycoon Games on Steam Money Can Buy!
Get that bread!
We all love money. Not all of us are on (nor should be) on the same level as a crustaceous cheapskate, but we all need money for things. We need money to buy food, electricity, our homes, and basically everything but breathing. As such, we tend to work towards getting as much as possible. Do you wish to be a billionaire without the fear of losing all your morality and going after the poor? Do you want to run a business without the stress of holding the livelihood of your employees in your hands? Are you only held back by the idea of your corporation committing actions that vindicate vigilantes?
If you answered yes to these questions, then welcome to the world of tycoon games. Tycoon games are somewhat of an umbrella term. Any game where you run your own business falls under this category. From restaurants to stores and even fully fledged shopping centers. Most of these games even give you the ability to decorate these places as you so choose.
Today, my esteemed Steam gamers, we will be going over a nicely sized list of tycoon games that give you the opportunity to be a big shot!
Ditto. Image courtesy of Steam.
Ah yes. May as well talk about the obvious entry. When someone says “tycoon game,” you certainly think of this game first. What can be a bigger spectacle than a theme park? Rollercoaster Tycoon lets you build all kinds of crazy rollercoasters and shops. This game is great for making new amusement parks for your guests to enjoy. To be fair, if you are less interested in bringing joy, this game also has a reputation for allowing its players to wreak some havoc in a park of your design. We all love the classic legend of Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride. Bring joy, bring chaos, the world is in your hands, and you can burn or mold it as you see fit.
Roll ‘em! Image courtesy of Steam.
Come on, folks, gather around! Become the masters of light and sound! In this text-focused game, you take the reins of a 2010s-era film studio. Give screenwriters projects to create movies of various genres. As the head of your studio in Showbiz Tycoon, you also have access to choosing whether the film is theater exclusive, DVD release, streaming, and so on. We have all kinds of shenanigans going on in the entertainment industry right now. Wouldn’t it be super cathartic to be in charge of your own studio and try to do things right? Everyone has a story to tell. It’s up to you to tell it.
Clean up on aisle 5. Image courtesy of Steam.
We all need food to survive. You can go to a restaurant, but it is impossible to deny the simple joys of cooking. To get those important ingredients, we usually go to the local grocery store. In Grocery Store Tycoon, we follow [Your Name Here] as you take charge of your very own grocery store. You can work the floor and keep the place clean and run the registers, or you can go into the role of the store’s CEO, managing resources and employees alike. The best part? Rather than be an employee pining for a higher rank or an executive yearning for the simplicity of a smaller role, you have the ability to swap between these roles at will (while the camera angle switches between first and third person to match accordingly). Stock up those shelves for all the folks.
Take A Ride Around Town! Image courtesy of Steam.
Tired of being swindled by highball sticker prices? Done being trapped by hard sellers into buying a car that costs more than your house? Then, baby, I got the game just for you! In this Auto Tycoon game, you play as esteemed auto CEO [Your Name Here]. You can sell cars and be the one to add these markups, rolling in that delicious profit. That said, beware. This is not an easy world to live in when you have to contend with all kinds of random events. I oughta smack the roof of this game and point out how you can fit so many random events into this baby. Can you handle the shifts at the dealership? Can you be a big shot? It’s time to prove it!
Mining into the Ground. Image courtesy of Steam.
Welcome to the world of Hydroneer. You get sent into the vast wilderness and get strange devices to profit off of the ground and the water in the surrounding area. This is a less conventional tycoon game, mixing new mechanics of exploring the forest and caves using hydroelectric mining tools with the classic mechanics of buying new equipment and selling the ores you mine. You can visit various villages that sell equipment at different prices. Build your mining operation into a full empire to rule the forest with an iron fist. Dig deeper and deeper into the caverns of your design. Can you be the greatest Hydroneer the world has ever seen, or will your drills and pickaxes lie abandoned?
Are your tables ready? Image courtesy of Steam.
Welcome to your lifetime job at your very own pizzeria. Where fun and imagination come to life. Pizza Connection 2 is all about our favorite protagonist, [Your Name Here] as you go into the piping hot pizza business! You can choose all kinds of things for your restaurant! Recipes, menus, tables, chairs, and decorations of all kinds to bring in all the best clientele. However, this game is not just about building your company up. You can also sabotage the competition and choose to charge customers enough to take their money without scaring them away, just like in real life.
That said, your dirty tactics come at a cost, so you will have to hire multiple security guards to prevent sabotage to your own establishment. Each location has unique events that can also occur to be aware of. Just remember that no matter what happens, no matter how many mobsters and failures you may face, one thing you can do is remember the mantra: “I always come back.”
Build your team up with fighters, medics, and more! Image courtesy of Steam.
We all love a good old-fashioned boxing game. Punch Out is an NES classic that has stood the test of time, but what if you played as Doc Louis instead of Little Mac? Well, you’d get World Championship Boxing Manager II. Okay, you don’t actually play as Doc Louis. You play as our hero [Your Name Here] and take on the role of the titular boxing manager. You start at the bottom and work your way to the top, hiring doctors, setting up schedules, hiring fighters for both male and female leagues, and more. Can you climb the ranks and rule over the boxing world?
Wow! It really looks like [Your Name Here] has got a really robust portfolio, don’t you think? A manager of grocery stores, pizzerias, and boxers, high rolling executive of a film studio and car dealers, starting at the bottom with a couple dollars and a hydroelectric drill. If you want to kick back a little more, check out our list of more casual games. Did we miss any games like Satisfactory? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
