Comparison

Game Dev Tycoon vs Universal Paperclips™

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

"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.

About

Universal Paperclips™

Become a super-powered AI focused on creating an unstoppable paperclip empire. This idle management strategy simulation game offers full gameplay without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • AI paperclip maximization
  • Idle management gameplay
  • Strategy simulation
  • Empire building
  • Full gameplay
  • No ads
  • No in-app purchases
Features
Read full description

The OFFICIAL mobile version of the hit browser game. No ads, no in-app purchases, full gameplay. "The game is click-crack." - Wired "This paperclip sim will cause your next existential crisis." - VentureBeat "A hopelessly addicting game." - Forbes "A terrifying lesson in how artificial intelligence will make us unnecessary." - Business Insider "If this planet ends up with a tombstone, what is written on the tombstone may be, 'they didn’t really understand what it’s like to be a paperclip maximizer.'" - Eliezer Yudkowsky Become a super-powerful AI who only wants one thing: paperclips. Use your unstoppable intelligence to create a massive paperclip empire in this addictive idle/management/strategy/sim.

Screenshots

Game Dev Tycoon4 screens
Universal Paperclips™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Game Dev Tycoon at 4.9 against Universal Paperclips™'s 4.5. Game Dev Tycoon also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 66%) and ratings volume (24K vs 303). Universal Paperclips™'s advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Game Dev Tycoon costs $4.99 and Universal Paperclips™ $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Game Dev Tycoon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Game Dev Tycoon has 24K ratings behind it against 303, 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 66% of Universal Paperclips™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Game Dev Tycoon versus Universal Paperclips™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGame Dev TycoonUniversal Paperclips™
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.9 (24K ratings) — better4.5 (303 ratings)
Positive reviews91.1% of reviews — better66.1% of reviews
Number of ratings24K — better303
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#55#45 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size204 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreenheart Games Pty. Ltd.Everybody House Games, LLC

Customer experience

Game Dev Tycoon

All ratings24,004 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.6%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews1,110 reviews
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.0%

Universal Paperclips™

All ratings303 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral13.2%
Negative20.7%

User reviews

Game Dev Tycoon

From 24K App Store ratings

What 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

Universal Paperclips™

From 303 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple but addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Engaging and clever concept
  • 💡 Interesting philosophical elements
  • 🚀 Surprisingly deep and replayable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches, especially in later stages
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 😞 Lack of offline progress or background play
  • 😞 Poorly optimized for iPad

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
Show 1 more
  • Implement mod support and custom content

Universal Paperclips™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drones gifts getting stuck at NaN
  • Inability to progress past certain stages due to bugs
  • Inconsistent behavior when closing and reopening the app
  • Resets or loss of progress after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to save and resume progress across devices
  • Offline/background progress
  • Better iPad optimization with multi-column layout

In-app purchases

None

Game Dev Tycoon

No in-app purchases

None

Universal Paperclips™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Game Dev Tycoon free?
Game Dev Tycoon costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Game Dev Tycoon or Universal Paperclips™?
Game Dev Tycoon is rated higher. Game Dev Tycoon averages 4.9 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Universal Paperclips™ averages 4.5 from 303 ratings.
Do Game Dev Tycoon or Universal Paperclips™ have ads?
Neither Game Dev Tycoon nor Universal Paperclips™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Game Dev Tycoon or Universal Paperclips™?
Game Dev Tycoon ships an update every 3 months, and Universal Paperclips™ every 3 months. Most recently, Game Dev Tycoon was updated on October 14, 2026 and Universal Paperclips™ on October 13, 2026.
Which is more popular, Game Dev Tycoon or Universal Paperclips™?
Game Dev Tycoon currently peaks at #55 in the App Store charts, and Universal Paperclips™ at #45. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons