Game Dev Story vs Dead Wake
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Game Dev Story
Build your own game development studio from the ground up. Hire and train staff, research new genres, and develop hit games to conquer the industry. Create your own consoles and aim for a million-selling title.
- Manage game company
- Develop own game console
- Train staff members
- Unlock new genres
- Discover popular combinations
- Develop for latest platforms
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Manage your own game company and try to create a million-selling game in this unique simulation. Features the ability to develop your company's own game console, plus a system for changing your staff members' professions. Hire talented people and train them to develop their skills. As your staff gets more experience, you will unlock a wider array of game genres and content to develop. Try to find the most popular combinations and develop for the latest platform! Your staff members can have a variety of game-related professions, from programmer to sound engineer. Work hard and you may reach the top of the video game industry! -- 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! https://twitter.com/kairokun2010
Dead Wake
Survive an endless horde of monsters on a highway. Grow your army, collect weapons and power-ups, and upgrade your squad in the armory to achieve the highest score on the global leaderboard.
- Grow your army
- Pick up weapons
- Collect power-ups
- Visit the armory
- Global leaderboard
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Dead Wake takes you on a wild ride through a monster infested highway. The goal is to survive for as long as possible. How long will you last? Features: • Grow your army • Pick up weapons • Collect special power-ups • Visit the armory to equip your squad before the madness begins • Automatically submit your top high-score to the global leaderboard
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dead Wake at Free against Game Dev Story's $4.99. Dead Wake also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 4 months). Game Dev Story's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment 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
Dead Wake is free to download; Game Dev Story costs $4.99 up front. Dead Wake sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Game Dev Story asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Game Dev Story against 5.0 for Dead Wake. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Game Dev Story has 3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Game Dev Story's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dead Wake's.
Game Dev Story ships an update every 4 months, Dead Wake every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Game Dev Story | Dead Wake |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (3K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #110 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | Logan Voss |
Customer experience
Game Dev Story
Dead Wake
Bugs and requests
Game Dev Story
Reported bugs
3 issues- Blackouts causing loss of progress
- Compatibility issues with newer devices
- Difficulty in obtaining certain resources
Requested features
5 requests- More consoles and game genres
- Ability to customize console designs
- Expanded content and longer playtime
- More staff and office options
- Improved late-game progression and challenges
Dead Wake
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Game Dev Story
No in-app purchases
Dead Wake
- Remove Advertisements$9.99
Questions
Is Game Dev Story free?
Is Dead Wake free?
Which has better reviews, Game Dev Story or Dead Wake?
Do Game Dev Story or Dead Wake have ads?
Which is updated more often, Game Dev Story or Dead Wake?
Other comparisons
