Play enjoyable and instructive business simulation games to develop your business acumen digitally.
- You may practice certain parts of managing a company in a wholly virtual, risk-free setting by playing business simulation games.
- You may acquire both hard and soft business management abilities by playing these simulation games.
- You’ll need a computer with sufficient processing power for video games in order to play any of the 16 business simulation games on this list. Additionally, several titles are accessible on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
- This post is for company owners who want to hone their talents without risking their real-world operations.
Want to start a company without taking any risks or working hard? Play a game of business simulation. These applications may let you showcase your abilities without the hassle of running a real company. You may run a theme park, run a business that creates video games, or establish a farm.
Here’s a breakdown of the top business simulation games for 2022 as well as a look at how they might aid aspiring company owners.
What are games that simulate businesses?
Games that simulate businesses are exactly what they sound like. They are “edutainment” tools that may be used to hone your company management abilities without causing you any stress at work or in the real world. Your game will imitate real-world business situations, but any errors you make won’t carry any actual danger or consequences. Your errors only occur when playing the game.
What advantages can play business simulation games offer?
You may learn from the career and startup mistakes you make in business simulation games to prevent making them in the real world. Additionally, you may improve your communication, leadership, operations, and a whole host of other soft business skills by playing business simulation games.
You may learn many more in-demand abilities as well as hard skills related to your sector by playing several business simulations games. In reality, a large percentage of the instances on our list of top business simulation games are quite sector-specific.
The 16 top games for business simulation
Are you prepared to develop your business talents without having to face the repercussions of your failures in the real world? Use the 16 business simulation games listed below to get going.
1. The Youtubers’ Life
While it was once possible to claim that having a YouTube channel was not the same as running a company, that is no longer the case. You are placed in the lowly position of a YouTuber attempting to launch a channel with some basic tools in Youtubers Life.
Like real-life YouTubers, you are driven by views and subscribers to create better videos, amass a collection of equipment, develop a fan base, and expand your channel. You need to manage your social life, your schooling, and ultimately your staff in addition to creating a social media profile.
A single-player video game called Youtubers Life was launched in 2016. Access it on Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch after purchasing it on Steam.
In October 2021, YouTubers Life 2 was released. It contains fresh elements including real-life YouTubers who play the game, a variety of content genres to cover, and a city you can tour to get content ideas. Youtubers Life 2 is available on Steam and may be accessed on Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and more platforms.
2. Virtonomics
Virtonomics is a collection of multiplayer business simulation games that includes Virtonomics Entrepreneur, Virtonomics Mafia Manager, and Virtonomics Tycoon. It is used for enjoyment, training, and leadership development.
There are no set guidelines for winning or losing in the Virtonomics series, and the game never ends. Although players may choose their own objectives in the game, the most popular one is to create a prosperous company in a cutthroat market. Numerous sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail, banking, marketing, and science, are available to players.
A massively multiplayer online game called Virtonomics was released in 2006. After making an account, you may play it for free online in a variety of languages.
3. Two Point Medical Center
You take on the role of a hospital administrator as you play Two Point Hospital. You establish and run a hospital, treat patients’ illnesses, and maintain a culture of personnel and facility improvement.
You’ll be entrusted with creating a hospital and designing it to enhance patient satisfaction in addition to discovering a treatment for really uncommon ailments.
Try Two Point Hospital if you’ve ever imagined managing a hospital or want to get a taste of what it’s like to be a doctor without attending medical school.
The popular simulation game Theme Hospital’s replacement, Two Point Hospital, was published in 2018. Through Steam, it’s accessible on Mac OS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Additionally, it is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
4. Tropico 4
The fourth installment of the eight-part Tropico series, Tropico 4, has received some of the best reviews. You are entrusted with creating an ideal country spanning multiple islands in a game that blends city management and political scheming.
As the game goes on, you’ll have to figure out how to deal with being accused of murder while also clearing your reputation in order to finally restore your country. To accomplish the game’s 20 objectives spanning over 10 distinct landscapes, players must use strategy, comedy, and intelligence.
In 2011, the single-player video game Tropico 4 was made available. Purchase it on Steam and use Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, or macOS to access it. Tropico 6, the most current version, is also accessible on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
5. Transportation Fie
With the addition of airports and harbors, Transport Fever, the game’s sequel to Train Fever, lets you develop into a real transportation tycoon rather than just a master of the railroads. The game begins in 1850, and as time goes by, so do your available modes of transportation. You want to make it easier to move people around inside and between towns.
You must decide which cars will do this task at the lowest cost and when to change to newer models. Both the U.S. and Europe provide campaigns with goals based on real-world transportation difficulties.
There is a sandbox option that allows you to act like a big child and play with your railway, aircraft, and boat lines if you want to take a break from the business management part of the game.
In 2016, Transport Fever was made available. The game is available on Steam and may be played on Microsoft Windows, Linux, or macOS.
6. Roller-coaster Tycoon
Roller-coaster Tycoon, a video game that is a simulation of an amusement park, guides you through the challenges of creating and operating a theme park. You have the responsibility of building and modifying roller coasters and adventure rides as a manager. With a variety of coaster types and park attractions, you can create the ideal theme park.
There are now nine versions of Roller-coaster Tycoon, which was first made accessible in 1999. Access it on Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch after purchasing it on Steam.
7.The Rise of Industry
Ever wished you could have experienced life in the early 20th century? In Rise of Industry, you take on the role of an industrialist from the early 1900s. In the game, you construct and oversee a developing empire. You may construct manufacturing facilities and transportation networks, keep a look out for the next big thing, identify market inefficiencies, and strike commercial partnerships.
In 2018, Rise of Industry was published. It is available for purchase on Steam and is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS.
8. Motorsport Manager
You are removed from the driver’s seat and placed behind the team by Motorsport Manager. You control the squad in this simulation game that places a driver on the podium.
You will soon discover that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than you might have expected, as is so common with business simulations. A lot of tutorials are included in the game’s early stages to help you get started and avoid getting stuck.
There is a lot of material at every level, covering everything from little particulars like vehicle parts and race-day choices to major issues like choosing your team and voting on the sport’s rules and regulations.
2014 saw the debut of the single-player game Motorsport Manager. It may be found on many different operating systems, including Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, and Nintendo Switch.
9. Mashinky
You may want to check out Mashinky if you like trains and transportation in general. In the game, you manage your empire, build up your assets, and build up a transport company on a dynamically generated map.
Initially, you are in charge of a transportation business. You manage routes, create tracks over difficult terrain, purchase new vehicles, and attempt to maximize your profit while playing the game.
You may play in early-access mode while the game is still in production while the complete version of the game has been in development for years. Currently, Microsoft Windows is compatible with it.
10. Job Simulator
Job Simulator gives you the opportunity to take on the roles of an office worker, chef, mechanic, and convenience store clerk, in contrast to other business simulations that put you in command of everything. In the year 2050, when robots have taken over every job, anyone who wish to experience what it was like to work may enter the “Job Simulator.”
The video game is a comical depiction of each of these professions, with office employees pounding away at two keys on a huge keyboard, shop assistants flinging Roman candles at clients, cooks hurling food, and technicians stuffing bananas into exhaust pipes to make automobiles pass emissions testing.
In 2016, Job Simulator was made available. It’s a VR game that you can play on PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows.
11. Game Dev Story
Many people’s ideal profession is to make video games for a livelihood, but if you’re not ready to make the leap, try Game Dev Story.
In this game, you take control of a modest gaming firm with lofty goals. You grow your workforce from a few to hundreds in an effort to make a “million-selling game” or finally launch your own gaming system.
The game is surprisingly complex despite its basic 16-bit visuals; in addition to making games, players are also in charge of recruiting and training staff members, advertising, conventions, licensing, and office space.
Game Dev Story has several references to vintage platforms and occasions, making it especially enjoyable for gamers who are acquainted with the console wars of the 1980s to the early 2000s.
Game Dev Story was first made available for Microsoft Windows in 1997, and it has subsequently been made available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Nintendo Switch.
12. Farming Simulator 17
You won’t always be at an office when participating in a business simulation. You may go hands-on with Farming Simulator 17 and spend some time driving different vehicles while working on your farm or other farms.
You will eventually need to deal with those spreadsheets since farming is still a business. These will display your gains and losses for each crop, animal, and piece of forest. You may buy or rent new equipment to improve the following season if you decide when to obtain the most from your assets.
2016 saw the release of Farming Simulator 17. It may be purchased from a variety of retailers and is compatible with the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and macOS.
13. Cities: Skylines
Managing a city may resemble managing a corporation quite a bit. Cities: Skylines is the current leader in this genre, albeit SimCity invented it.
In this game, you have much more authority than any mayor or city planner, and you can create and demolish anything you choose. However, the fundamental approach is to stay under your budget while maintaining employee and client satisfaction (in this example, the general populace).
Cities: Skylines is very amazing in terms of size. The nine zones that are accessible to you in this game will allow you to create a wide metropolis, unlike other city builders that seem like heavily inhabited islands. Even better, you may include an expansion pack that lets users modify industrial regions, like Industries.
A single-player video game called Cities: Skylines was launched in 2015. It works with Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.
14. Anno 1404
One of the seven games in the Anno series is Anno 1404, called Dawn of Discovery in North America. It is a city-building and economic simulation game set in a time period modeled by the medieval and Renaissance periods of history.
The game’s main focus is on trading, gathering construction supplies, and erecting structures like a Gothic cathedral and an Arabic Mosque. You must conquer islands, build homes and farms for your people, engage in diplomatic ties with AI players, and ultimately engage in battle to defend your empire.
There are single-player and multiplayer options in Anno 1404. It is accessible on Microsoft Windows and was launched in 2009.
15. Constructor Plus
You will create a town in Constructor Plus that is full with eccentric people and (ideally) flourishing companies. The town’s architecture will also be at your control, and you have 147 structures and 65 pre-built towns to pick from.
Although you may choose whatever gaming objectives pique your attention, often generating the most money possible from your developments is your major purpose. Hitmen and enormous cockroaches that may expel undesirables from your community are two unusual game elements. The Housing Authority should be avoided.
The sequel to the 1997 game Constructor, Constructor Plus, was launched in 2019. It may be purchased on the Nintendo Switch or for Windows through Steam.
16. Space Company Simulator
The billionaire space race is undoubtedly something you’ve heard about unless you live under a rock. The business simulation game Space Company Simulator lets you participate in it. Your firm wants to become the most recognizable brand in the space travel sector. Planning the first voyage to Mars with human crew will be done concurrently. As you go along, you may do a lot of things like develop your technology, recruit additional workers, create rockets, and more.
