Anime Studio Story vs Game Dev Tycoon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Anime Studio Story
Create your own anime series with a custom character. Design your hero, choose show categories, and equip your studio with essential facilities. Train your staff to produce classic anime that will captivate audiences and bring prestige to your studio.
- Custom character creation
- Anime production simulation
- Studio facility management
- Staff training and education
- Show category selection
- Ranking system
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Produce your own hit anime starring a character of your making! Select a face, body, and presto! Your completed hero can then explode onto the scene of your show, wowing watchers to rule the rankings! Categories include "Dateability," "Popular with Kids," and more! As the animaestro, only you can bring status to your studio! Speaking of your studio, equip it with a library, motion capture room, and even a theater! Educate your staff in the anime way to craft a classic that will echo through the generations! Ready to hit the drawing board? -- Try searching for "Kairosoft" to see all of our games, or visit us at https://kairopark.jp. Be sure to check out both our free-to-play and our paid games!
Game Dev Tycoon
Build your own game development company from the 1980s to the present. Design and create your own games, research new technologies, and manage a team to become a market leader. Enjoy a full simulation experience without ads or in-app purchases.
- Start a game development company
- Design and create your own games
- Research new technologies
- Hire and manage a development team
- Replay gaming history
- Built-in screen recording and streaming
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"It’s the perfect sort of game for mobile devices and there’s so much to do here [...]" - 5/5 - Toucharcade Game Dev Tycoon is a casual business simulation game where your success depends on your creativity and willingness to experiment. The game does *not* contain any in-app purchases or ads. Slip into the role of a game developer: start your own company, design your own games and make your way to the top to become a Game Dev Tycoon. - Start your own game development company in the 80s - Replay gaming history - Design and create your own games - Hold your breath and wait for reviews to come in - Research new technologies - Hire and manage a world-leading development team - Become the leader of the market - Gain worldwide fans Game Dev Tycoon for iPhone and iPad introduces: - An updated story line - New topics to enable even more varied games - A challenging (but optional) ‘pirate mode’ - Built-in screen recording and streaming support Game Dev Tycoon does not require an internet connection so go ahead and build your gaming empire in Airplane Mode.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Game Dev Tycoon at 4.9 against Anime Studio Story's 4.0. Game Dev Tycoon also leads on ratings volume (24K vs 30) and review sentiment (91% vs 67%). Anime Studio Story's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Anime Studio Story costs $4.99 and Game Dev Tycoon $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Game Dev Tycoon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Game Dev Tycoon has 24K ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Anime Studio Story's written reviews are positive against 91% of Game Dev Tycoon's.
Anime Studio Story ships an update every 9 months, Game Dev Tycoon every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Anime Studio Story | Game Dev Tycoon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (30 ratings) | 4.9 (24K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.3% of reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 30 | 24K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #48 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 204 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | Greenheart Games Pty. Ltd. |
Customer experience
Anime Studio Story
Game Dev Tycoon
User reviews
Anime Studio Story
From 30 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Fun and engaging
- 👍 Good replay value
- 👍 Creative freedom
- 👍 Reminds of Game Dev Story
Room to improve
- 👎 Repetitive gameplay loop
- 👎 Too similar to Game Dev Story
- 👎 Limited features
- 👎 Tedious discovery of new designs
- 👎 Annoying background music
Game Dev Tycoon
From 24K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Cheap price
- 👍 No in-app purchases or ads
- 👍 Addictive and fun gameplay
- 👍 Realistic game development simulation
- 👍 Detailed and complex mechanics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Game crashes on launch for some users
- 🐛 Orientation issues on iPhone X
- 🐛 Difficulty remembering research and specialist information
- 🔋 Game can be very time-consuming
- 🤔 Lack of difficulty options or sandbox mode
Bugs and requests
Anime Studio Story
Reported bugs
9 issues- Translation not complete
- Too large on screen, buttons inaccessible
- Cannot rotate screen
- Download issues
- App crashes
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- Cannot load game
- Sound not working
- Game not installing
- Crashes after a couple of seconds when reopening
Requested features
17 requests- Sequel to be free titled “Anime Story Studio”
- Make animations of people watching shows
- Watch shows in 30-second shorts
- Make own short and post it
- Add more themes
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- More interactive gameplay
- More broad themes and settings
- More involvement in anime story
- Mini features
- Suggest game ideas page
- Option to watch your show
- Make animations of the people watching your show
- Ability to restart game with carried over items
- More depth to making an anime character
- Make sequels to products
- Add more scenes
- Add a twist to gameplay
Game Dev Tycoon
Reported bugs
2 issues- Loan payback amount inconsistency
- Game reports not carrying over knowledge
Requested features
6 requests- Add more console and game genre options
- Implement employee personalities and interactions
- Provide more detailed game performance history
- Allow simultaneous game development
- Add difficulty settings and sandbox mode
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Implement mod support and custom content
In-app purchases
Anime Studio Story
No in-app purchases
Game Dev Tycoon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Anime Studio Story free?
Is Game Dev Tycoon free?
Which has better reviews, Anime Studio Story or Game Dev Tycoon?
Do Anime Studio Story or Game Dev Tycoon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Anime Studio Story or Game Dev Tycoon?
Other comparisons
