Software Inc.

more than 10 years on early access, more than 6 years in my library and yet i cant get enough of it. if only there were more modders

---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Paint.exe

---{Gameplay}---
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Starring at walls is better
☐ Just don‘t

---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ Earrape

---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☐ Adults
☑ Human

---{PC Requirements}---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boiiiiii
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{Difficulty}---
☐ Just press ‚A‘
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{Grind}---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leader-boards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding

---{Story}---
☐ Story?
☑ Text or Audio floating around
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life

---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

When you want to pull out your hair because of deadlines or want to have more stress to release a product this game is for you!

Software Inc. is one of those rare management sims that strikes a near-perfect balance between accessibility and strategic depth. It welcomes you with intuitive mechanics and a clean interface, but as your company grows, it reveals layers of complexity that keep you engaged for the long haul.

The early stages introduce core concepts—office design, hiring staff, and managing time—in a way that’s easy to grasp. Yet, what starts simple quickly evolves into a deep simulation of software development and company management. From scheduling development cycles and managing team compatibility to reacting to market trends and fine-tuning project scope, every decision matters.

What makes Software Inc. stand out is how it challenges you without overwhelming you. The game encourages experimentation and long-term planning, and while mistakes can be costly, they often feel like opportunities to learn rather than punishing roadblocks. The gradual increase in complexity keeps things interesting and gives a real sense of progression and mastery.

Customization and creativity are also at the heart of the experience. Whether you’re designing the ultimate open-concept workspace or building a multi-floor headquarters for your tech empire, the building system adds a fun layer of expression without distracting from the strategic core.

In short, Software Inc. is a smart, engaging simulation that rewards thoughtful play and careful planning. It’s a must-play for fans of management games who enjoy digging into the details, but still want a gameplay loop that feels fluid and fun. A true gem for anyone looking to build their software empire from the ground up.

This is seriously such a good game. It goes deeper than what the pictures and trailers show on Steam. 1000% worth the buy

Fun game! Steep learning curve but it plays like the sims ft. corporate greed

I originally bought this game years ago, and I loved it. I've just come back to it and y'all, the development team has done a FANTASTIC job of expanding and building on this game while keeping it's core unbelievably strong. If you have even a passing interest in these types of games, you need to try Software Inc.

i love the game. but its in a bit of development hell. i believe kennith should wrap things up and start another game. 10 years in EA is a bit too long.

I've owned this game for 10 years and it has changed a lot since first release. If I remember correctly the game is made by like 1 guy or a small team but don't let that fool you, it is frequently updated and not one of those abandoned early access games. This is exactly what I feel a video game company tycoon game should be. It's pretty in depth and yo don't even have to make video games. You can focus on running a server farm, an online store similar to steam, developing hardware, or just make software such as audio engines and stuff. This a hidden gem in the steam store.

Not only does this game let you derp around with tycoon game stuff and architecture, IT HAS A FAT CAT UPDATE!

its a game you keep coming back to.

unreal if you enjoy management games, great workshop support.

would buy again

My favorite sim game, has an absurd amount of content and the solo developer has been consistently updating the game

I don't normally write a review, but Software Inc is the best Simulation game that I have ever played. It is better than Sim City, and it is better than Civilization; it is better than anything else that I can think of that I have played. At 1,350 hours in, I am still learning new in-game strategies; coming up with new efficient team configurations, and game-play styles. Currently playing on very hard, the simulated market is more than competitive. Using console commands to cheat or not, provide so many hours of entertainment, that this game is deeply gratifying, and is worth the cost compared to the entertainment value that it provides. I can play it over and over again on any difficulty, On any difficulty, I still find it to be entertaining. The updates to the core game seem to be common; every few months or so. The attention to detail is more than apparent. I highly recommend this game to anyone that is seeking an in-depth software simulation game that is continually being upgraded and updated by a devoted developer. I highly recommend this game for anyone that appreciates a single-player strategy game with an emphasis on turn-based strategy gaming. It is a game that I return to every three months or so.

Amazing Game!!! Nothing more.

Please add an automation for room construction, that would be really awesome

72 hours in and this really is a great game! Not too complex, great mods and workshop assets, and a fun relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

Imagine Game Dev Tycoon with a looooooot more options. Its a bit overwhelming at the start and a much of the UI is definetly redundant and could be optimized; most likely a side effect of all the content that got added over the years. But In the end it does not take off much of the experience. Here you really feel like you can decide how to lead your company and make money.

One of the best business simulations out there. Yeah, its focused on software businesses, but the level of detail and depth is amazing. Well done.

Loved playing this game, 10/10 would play again

Excellent company/biz sim. I'm a software engineer and after being at work all day...it's good to come home, fire this game up, and run a company the way I want.

10/10

This is an absolutely fantastic tycoon, management, building game!

You can dump hours and hours into each aspect of the game, personally I like the management and office running side of it, acting as though i'm the CEO. My friend really loves the building and will spend hours into building his perfect office.

It has deep deep mechanics going farther than you'd ever think. Have fun and enjoy the game!

After playing this one non-stop for 30+ hours I can assure you: this game is not about software, but business management sprinkled with software/hardware aspects. It's not a bad thing, it's a great thing! Not many "from garage to corporate empire" type games are actually encapsulating that the most important aspect of actually keeping your newfound business affloat is good business practices:
from manual HR managment to automated per team managment.
from one to many shifts.
from finding a good publisher to having your own marketing team.
from paying royalties for frameworks to R&D and patenting.
from manual development to automated project managment.

It is a rare sight to see both micro and macro being executed that well. Taking into account, this game is still developed by one person.

Fun game, beat my friends all the time because they don't know how to quality control.

Fun game about developing softwares and hardwares and raising a company from the ground up.

I have had this in my library for years, and I always see consistent updates made to it in my feed which is becoming a bit of a rarity among games on Steam lately.
I've played a lot of games in this genre, but I have no issue conceding that Software Inc is leaps and bounds above the rest. There is a learning curve purely on count of the depth offered in the game, but it is worth the purchase.

I've been following this game for a long time and its only gotten better and better. I can't wait to see the full release!

good game

100/10 game

The level of detail on display here is stunning. There are so many things you can do and manage that its an overwhelming experience to say the least. Perhaps so much so that it stops being a fun business tycoon simulator and becomes a ruthless true to life depiction of capitalism in the tech sector. That experience isn't for me, but the game's quality is unmistakable.

I don't normally review games, but if you like in-depth business tycoon/simulation games, you will not be disappointed! The game goes deeper than I imagined. It has a bit of a learning curve, but the in-game help is decent, and the game is definitely fun enough to reward your efforts.

I love this game. Love the music and the chill vibe

Great, chill game with a nice community and mods.

Consistent updates, well made game, addictive play. I would like to see more depth on employee and team scheduling, and project management. 8/10 game.

My friend kept hounding me to get it. I did but thought it would be penis. Now im addicted and have played 12 hours in the first day. MY FRIEND BROKE HIS COMPUTER AND NOW WE CANT FREAKING PLAY TOGETHER

amazing game

Fun Game, Would recommend for someone looking to make a lot of money in a video game!

One of the best simulation games I’ve played so far. Can play it with no time limits. The game looks simple but has an astonishing amount of details

Nice game. It's almost a long-term investment.

Comprehensive

This and Gear City are the two best Tycoon / Management games out there.

great game 10/10

The gameplay for this game is honestly great and very in-depth for all of its primary content such as developing software, managing a business and employees, handling the stock market and investments etc.

I may be in the minority for this, but I don't particularly enjoy the forced "sims" like building that comes as a prerequisite with having to do pretty much anything in the game. If you aren't feeling particularly creative or inspired to build and just want to play the game for the actual business content it can feel extremely tedious to do. The game provides you with a small amount of prebuilt maps to choose from but they are not super well designed to use, the layout is either terrible or the space is way too big for how small you are starting out. I know the obvious answer people will say is to use the workshop, but that should not be the solution if you just want to play with the software/business content in the game and not the sims aspect of it.

Work Work, I can do that.

It's like work in real life BUT with more spreadsheets :D

Absolute recommendation. if you are playing this for graphics... what are you doing?

Gameplay is solid and lets you feel like you are controlling the fate of technological growth over the past 50 years.

The only thing I wish they gave attention to is the project management system. everything else is relatively simple to understand, but the PM system looks like a disaster (and im a PM irl). The interface needs love. and unfortunately because of this, the late game is hard to suffer through. you almost dont want to expand because it means another thing on your plate, because you dont want to use the PM system.

Also can we pleeeaaase understand that contracts are not the only way a company gets reputation? i stopped doing contracts in favor of making my own software. I have literal billions in the bank, but my reputation is unaffected. makes no sense.And doing contracts at this point is like having bill gates take acontract by some guy making a game in his garage to prove microsoft has a good reputation... makes no sense. the reason why this even matters is because the game blocks you from hiring better lead designers unless you have amazing rep. Can we fix this already?

Those issues aside, the game is awesome and i recommend it to anyone who wants to feel like a tech giant.

Really good game, had loads of fun with all my friends

It's going places. :)

great game

I just don't like the graphics and the UI

Amazing game, And gets interesting on each update

i've been a software dev for nearly 10 years now and let me tell you this game is accurate (except the part where i get to raise my own wages)

it's a stunning and deep management sim, knowledge of game/software/web development helpful but not required