Comparison

Papers, Please vs Rebel Inc.

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

Head to head
About

Papers, Please

Step into the shoes of a border inspector in a dystopian communist state. Examine documents, interrogate travelers, and decide who is allowed to enter. Your choices impact your family's survival and the fate of the nation.

Highlights
  • Dystopian border inspector simulation
  • Document examination and verification
  • Interrogation and decision-making
  • Multiple endings based on choices
  • Unlockable multitouch support
  • Game Center achievements and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

A dystopian document thriller. The award-winning, critically-acclaimed border inspector game. ______________________________________ "Congratulations." "The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled." "For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint." "An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling." "Glory to Arstotzka." ______________________________________ Awards ◉ Best Game of 2013 - The New Yorker ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Wired Magazine ◉ Top Indie Game 2013 - Forbes Magazine ◉ Best Strategy & Simulation Game 2014 - BAFTA ◉ Grand Prize Winner 2014 - Independent Games Festival ◉ Excellence in Design Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ Excellence in Narrative Winner - IGF 2014 ◉ GameCity Prize Winner 2014 - GameCity ◉ Cultural Innovation Award 2013 - SXSW ◉ Best PC Game 2014 - LARA Game Awards ◉ Innovation Award - GDCA 2014 ◉ Most Innovative 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Gameplay 2014 - Games For Change ◉ Best Game of 2013 - Ars Technica ◉ Best Game of 2013 - PC World ◉ Best PC Game of 2013 - Destructoid ◉ Best Story of 2013 - Destructoid ... and more ______________________________________ Story The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested. ______________________________________ Features Includes the complete original game with all 31 days and 20 endings. Also adds unlockable multitouch support for faster paperwork, an enhanced inspection mode, Game Center achievements, leaderboards, mid-day resume, and more. ______________________________________ Warning This game contains mature themes, non-photographic nudity, and brief moments of pixelated violence.

About

Rebel Inc.

Engage in a deep political and military simulation to stabilize a country after conflict. Balance military and civilian needs to gain public support and defeat insurgents. This critically acclaimed game offers a strategic challenge inspired by modern counter-insurgency.

Highlights
  • Stabilize 10 richly modeled regions
  • Counter insurgency tactics
  • Fund local government initiatives
  • Hyper-realistic world
  • Intelligent AI
  • 9 unique governors
  • Campaign mode operations
Features
Read full description

Can you stop the Insurgency? From the creator of Plague Inc. comes a unique and deeply engaging political/military strategic simulation. The war is ‘over’ - but we all know that doesn’t mean anything. To stabilise the country, you need to balance military and civilian priorities to win the hearts and minds of the people, whilst also stopping insurgents from seizing power! Rebel Inc. is the brand new game from the creator of ‘Plague Inc.’ - one of the most popular paid games ever with over 200 million players. Brilliantly executed with beautiful graphics and critically acclaimed gameplay - Rebel Inc. offers a deeply engaging, strategic challenge inspired by the complexities and consequences of modern counter insurgency. ◈◈◈ #1 top paid game globally ◈◈◈ ▶ “Rebel Inc. lets everyone wrestle with the messy challenges of post-conflict recovery and better understand the complex realities of building peace.” - World Bank Global Lead for Stability, Peace and Security ▶ "Highly rewarding spiritual sequel to one of the App Store's biggest hits." - Pocket Tactics ▶ "Surprisingly sophisticated... even better than some of the stabilization training software I have seen in government use" - PAXsims ▶ "Rebel Inc. is fascinating and fun" - 148Apps.com ▶ "Another great game and a worthy successor to Plague Inc" - App Store review ▶ "If you love strategy games then this is the game for you" - App Store review ▶ "Brilliant game, the gameplay is interesting and the strategy is intuitive!" - App Store review ▶ "Unlike anything I’ve played on here before" - App Store review ◈◈◈ Features: ● Stabilise 10 richly modeled regions ● Innovative representation of counter insurgency tactics ● Fund realistic initiatives to empower the local government ● Highly detailed, hyper-realistic world based on extensive research ● Intelligent strategic and tactical AI ● Sophisticated narrative algorithms shaped by your decisions ● 9 unique governors with radically different abilities ● Conduct large-scale Operations in Campaign mode ● Play new generated Challenges every week ● 23 Official Scenarios including disease outbreaks, helicopters and advanced insurgents ● Comprehensive in-game help and tutorial system ● Full Save/Load functionality ● Internet connectivity not required An important note: Although a fictional game, Rebel Inc. looks at important real world issues and we have made every effort to deal with them sensitively. The game has been extensively researched and has been developed in cooperation with leading regional politicians, business people and journalists as well as international charities, experts and governments. Special sale price to celebrate the launch of the game! ◈◈◈ I’ve got lots of plans for updates! Get in touch and let me know what you want to see. James (the designer) Contact me here: www.ndemiccreations.com/en/1-support

Screenshots

Papers, Please4 screens
Rebel Inc.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Papers, Please at none against Rebel Inc.'s 10. Papers, Please also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and chart position (#7 vs #30). Rebel Inc.'s advantage is ratings volume (42K vs 1.2K) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On rating, ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Papers, Please costs $4.99 and Rebel Inc. $1.99 up front. Rebel Inc. sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Papers, Please asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Papers, Please against 4.8 for Rebel Inc.. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rebel Inc. has 42K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Papers, Please's written reviews are positive against 89% of Rebel Inc.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Papers, Please ships an update weekly, Rebel Inc. monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Papers, Please versus Rebel Inc.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPapers, PleaseRebel Inc.
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.7 (1.2K ratings)4.8 (42K ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews89.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K42K — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#7 — better#30
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB259 MB
Age rating17+12+
Developer3909Ndemic Creations

Customer experience

Papers, Please

All ratings1,202 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews997 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral7.5%
Negative12.8%

Rebel Inc.

All ratings41,551 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews2,382 reviews
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.8%

Bugs and requests

Papers, Please

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Rebel Inc.

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Insurgents escaping too easily
  • Reputation loss issues
  • Inconsistent difficulty scaling

Requested features

6 requests
  • More map/scenario options
  • Ability to play as insurgents
  • Customizable military units
  • Improved tutorial/explanations
  • Ability to save/continue games
Show 1 more
  • More variety in gameplay/events

In-app purchases

None

Papers, Please

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Rebel Inc.

One-time10
  • The Black Caves Expansion$1.99
  • The Azure Dam Expansion$1.99
  • Region Tour$3.99
Show 7 more
  • Early Unlock Cheats (discount)$4.99
  • Campaign + Challenge$4.99
  • Command Pack$6.99
  • Command Pack$8.99
  • Early Unlock Cheats$9.99
  • All Advisors Unlock$9.99
  • Command Pack$10.99

Questions

Is Papers, Please free?
Papers, Please costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rebel Inc. free?
Rebel Inc. costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Papers, Please or Rebel Inc.?
Rebel Inc. is rated higher. Papers, Please averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Rebel Inc. averages 4.8 from 42K ratings.
Do Papers, Please or Rebel Inc. have ads?
Neither Papers, Please nor Rebel Inc. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Papers, Please or Rebel Inc.?
Papers, Please ships an update weekly, and Rebel Inc. monthly. Most recently, Papers, Please was updated on October 29, 2026 and Rebel Inc. on October 31, 2026.
Which is more popular, Papers, Please or Rebel Inc.?
Papers, Please currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Rebel Inc. at #30. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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