Game Dev Tycoon vs Tropico
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Tropico
Lead an underdeveloped Caribbean island to glory as its elected ruler. Manage every aspect of your nation, from infrastructure and economy to politics and foreign policy, in this humorous city-builder with a political twist. Transform your island into a tourist paradise, industrial powerhouse, or a police state.
- Island nation management
- Political strategy
- City building
- Economic development
- Foreign policy
- Customizable nation types
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All hail El Presidente! The proud nation of Tropico is now in your hands and badly in need of modernisation! As the freshly elected leader of an underdeveloped Caribbean island with untapped resources and enormous potential, hopes are high that you will deliver Tropico into the glorious future its people deserve. The opportunities are boundless in this humorous city-builder with a political twist. YOU RULE! Develop and manage every aspect of Tropico, from its roads, buildings and people, to its military, trade and foreign policies. BE A VISIONARY LEADER Transform Tropico into the country you want it to be: a booming tourist paradise, an industrial powerhouse, a police state, or all three! PLAY POLITICS Recount elections, calm unruly elements, manage public opinion and reward your loyal followers… BUILT FOR iOS Exercise complete control with an intuitive touch interface and gameplay mechanics designed and refined for mobile gaming. EXERT ABSOLUTE POWER! From printing your own money to growing your own fanclub, Tropico includes all the extra edicts, missions, landmarks and leisure facilities of its popular expansion pack, Absolute Power. ADDITIONAL MISSION PACKS Fleece revolutionary llamas and search for alien life in the free 'Postcards from Tropico' mission pack. Or play the markets and face God’s wrath in 'The Tropican Dream' mission pack, available via in-app purchase. This game requires iOS 14 or later and just under 3GB of space to install. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 6S / 6S Plus and later • Any iPhone SE • iPod Touch (7th generation, 2019) Supported iPads: • iPad mini (5th generation, 2019) and later • iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019) and later • iPad (5th generation, 2017) and later • Any iPad Pro Copyright © 2023 Kalypso Media Group GmbH. Tropico is a registered trademark of Kalypso Media Group GmbH. All rights reserved. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive Ltd. Apple, the Apple logo and iOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other logos, copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Game Dev Tycoon at $4.99 against Tropico's $12.99. Game Dev Tycoon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (91% vs 73%). Tropico's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On ads, chart position and device support 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
Game Dev Tycoon costs $4.99 and Tropico $12.99 up front. Tropico sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Game Dev Tycoon asks for nothing beyond the download.
Game Dev Tycoon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Game Dev Tycoon has 24K ratings behind it against 2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Game Dev Tycoon's written reviews are positive against 73% of Tropico's.
Game Dev Tycoon ships an update every 3 months, Tropico fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.
| Parameter | Game Dev Tycoon | Tropico |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (24K ratings) — better | 4.7 (2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better | 73.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | 2K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #51 — better | #100 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 204 MB | 2.3 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Greenheart Games Pty. Ltd. | Feral Interactive Ltd |
Customer experience
Game Dev Tycoon
Tropico
User reviews
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
Tropico
From 2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Faithful port of PC version
- 💰 Fair one-time purchase price
- 🎨 Excellent graphics
- 🕹️ Intuitive touch controls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and save data loss
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🤔 Clunky road building
- 🕰️ Slow construction speed
- 🕹️ Finicky camera controls
Bugs and requests
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
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- Implement mod support and custom content
Tropico
Reported bugs
4 issues- Missions not triggering properly
- Inability to build or demolish roads
- Audio issues (speed up, no sound)
- Flickering minimap
Requested features
5 requests- More campaign missions and scenarios
- Improved population growth and AI
- Ability to customize terrain
- Multiplayer or online features
- Support for older iPad models
In-app purchases
Game Dev Tycoon
No in-app purchases
Tropico
- The Tropican Dream$2.99








