# Pocket City 2 vs THE MACHINE

The clearest difference is price: THE MACHINE at Free against Pocket City 2's $4.99. THE MACHINE also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Pocket City 2's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (808 vs 1). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

THE MACHINE is free to download; Pocket City 2 costs $4.99 up front. THE MACHINE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pocket City 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

THE MACHINE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket City 2 has 808 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Pocket City 2 ships an update weekly, THE MACHINE daily. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pocket City 2 | THE MACHINE |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (808 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-city-2/id1533709428/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-machine-assembly/id6808324017/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **808** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 79.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Daily** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#28** | — |
| Size | 304 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Codebrew Games Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1330451887) | [IAN FABIAN FAGERSTROM](https://appshunter.io/developer/6808324019) |

## What reviewers say

### Pocket City 2

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-city-2/id1533709428)

**Currently charting:** #28 Top Paid · Strategy, #36 Top Paid · Simulation, #81 Top Paid · Games, #131 Top Paid (US App Store)

Construct and explore a vibrant 3D metropolis, managing zones, landmarks, and special buildings. Live the life of a mayor, from building your own house to surviving disasters and hosting events. Enjoy a dynamic world with seasons, a day-night cycle, and engaging minigames.

**Highlights:** Build unique cities with zones and special buildings, Explore your city as an avatar, Dynamic environment with seasons and day/night cycle, Play minigames like street racing and plane flying, Survive disasters and host fun events, Customize avatar and become a homeowner, Collaborate on cities in real-time

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Game Controller support, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Exceptional city builder
- 👍 Immersive free roam mode
- 🔒 No ads or microtransactions
- 💡 Ability to explore and interact with city
- 👍 Smooth gameplay and great graphics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Graphical issues and performance problems
- 🐛 Repetitive city design
- 🐛 Minigames can be frustrating
- 🐛 Difficulty balancing and progression issues

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when entering certain buildings
- Graphical glitches and disappearing elements
- Freezing and performance issues with larger cities
- Bugs with regional city and money transfer features
- Issues with road building and placement

**Requested features**

- More building styles and architectural variety
- Improved traffic management and transportation options
- Expanded regional city functionality
- Mayor customization and more interactive features
- Better save/load and cross-device syncing


### THE MACHINE

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-machine-assembly/id6808324017)

Engage with a mechanical puzzle box focused on experimentation and understanding cause and effect. Install and reorder parts to observe signal flow and solve objectives. Discover new hardware and deeper systems as the machine awakens.

**Highlights:** Mechanical puzzle box gameplay, Experimentation and cause/effect mechanics, 34 unique mechanism families, Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles, Tuning and Fusion systems, Offline play, Single optional purchase for full content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| THE MACHINE | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pocket City 2 free?

Pocket City 2 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is THE MACHINE free?

THE MACHINE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pocket City 2 or THE MACHINE?

THE MACHINE is rated higher. Pocket City 2 averages 4.6 out of 5 from 808 ratings, while THE MACHINE averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Pocket City 2 or THE MACHINE have ads?

Neither Pocket City 2 nor THE MACHINE shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pocket City 2 or THE MACHINE?

Pocket City 2 ships an update weekly, and THE MACHINE daily. Most recently, Pocket City 2 was updated on November 7, 2026 and THE MACHINE on October 31, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*