Game Dev Tycoon challenges players to create their own game development company, starting as a solo developer in a cramped basement and progressing to a high-budget AAA studio.
To help you on your way to video game development stardom — this guide covers the best possible combos for all Genres in Game Dev Tycoon, including the Topics you should choose, how much time you should allocate, the best Platform, and how to select the ideal Audience.
Best Game Dev Tycoon Combos — Table of Contents
Best Genre, Platform, and Topic Combos in Game Dev Tycoon
To create the perfect game in Game Dev Tycoon, you need to choose a Topic and Platform that complement your title’s Genre.
| Genre | Best Topics | Best Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Action | Airplane Aliens Alternate History Cyberpunk Dungeon Fantasy Horror Hunting Martial Arts Medieval Military Music Ninja Post Apocalyptic Prison Rhythm Sci-Fi Space Sports Spy Superheroes UFO Vampire Werewolf Zombies | Vena Oasis Playsystem DreamVast Playsystem 2 mBox PPS mBox 360 Playsystem 3 mBox One Playsystem 4 Playsystem 5 |
| Adventure | Comedy Detective Fantasy Horror Law Life Medieval Mystery Pirate Prison Romance School Sci-Fi Spy Time Travel | PC G64 Super TES (++) GS (++) mBox 360 (++) Playsystem 3 (++) grPad (++) mPad (++) mBox Next (++) |
| RPG | Aliens Alternate History Cyberpunk Detective Dungeon Fantasy Fashion Martial Arts Medieval Mystery Post Apocalyptic School Sci-Fi Spy Time Travel Vampire Werewolf Wild West | Playsystem Playsystem 2 GS PPS mBox 360 Playsystem 4 |
| Simulation | Airplane Business City Dance Dungeon Evolution Fashion Game Dev Government Hacking History Hospital Hunting Life Martial Arts Military Movies Music Prison Racing Rhythm School Sci-Fi Space Sports Surgery Transport Virtual Pet Vocabulary | PC Super TES DreamVast Nuu Playsystem3 Wuu Playsystem 5 |
| Strategy | Airplane Business City Dungeon Evolution Fantasy Government Hacking History Medieval Military School Sci-Fi Space Transport UFO Vocabulary | PC G64 |
| Casual | Airplane Comedy Dance Fashion Martial Arts Movies Music Racing Rhythm Sports Virtual pet Vocabulary Zombies | TES Master V Gameling Vena Gear Game Sphere GS Nuu grPhone grPad Wuu OYA mBox Next |
Related: All Sims 4 Packs in Order of Release
Best Time Allocation for Each Genre in Game Dev Tycoon
Time allocation is where many new Game Dev Tycoon players struggle. Until I wrapped my head around each phase, my games flopped harder than a fish on a trampoline. Aim for the values listed below for the best results, but feel free to tweak and experiment as you progress.
| Genre | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action | Engine – 100% Gameplay – 80% Story/Quests – 0% | Dialogues – 0% Level Design – 80% Artificial Intelligence -100% | World Design – 0% Graphic – 100% Sound – 80% |
| Adventure | Engine – 0% Gameplay – 0% Story/Quests – 100% | Dialogues – 100% Level Design – 0% Artificial Intelligence – 0% | World Design – 100% Graphic – 80% Sound – 0% |
| RPG | Engine – 0% Gameplay – 80% Story/Quests – 100% | Dialogues – 100% Level Design – 80% Artificial Intelligence – 0% | World Design – 100% Graphic – 80% Sound – 0% |
| Simulation | Engine – 80% Gameplay – 100% Story/Quests – 0% | Dialogues – 0% Level Design – 80% Artificial Intelligence – 100% | World Design – 0% Graphic – 100% Sound – 80% |
| Strategy | Engine – 80% Gameplay – 100% Story/Quests – 0% | Dialogues – 0% Level Design – 100% Artificial Intelligence – 80% | World Design – 100% Graphic – 0% Sound – 80% |
| Casual | Engine – 0% Gameplay – 100% Story/Quests – 0% | Dialogues – 0% Level Design – 100% Artificial Intelligence – 0% | World Design – 0% Graphic – 100% Sound – 80% |
How to Choose The Best Audience in Game Dev Tycoon
Unlike Genres, choosing your target audience will depend on your chosen Topic and Platform. Try to aim for +++ on both. For example, an Airplane game on the TES caters perfectly to a Y audience.
The tables below show the best Platform for every Topic and Platform in Game Dev Tycoon.
Best Topic Audiences
| Topic | Y | E | M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airplane | +++ | +++ | ++ |
| Aliens | ++ | +++ | +++ |
| Alternate History | — | +++ | +++ |
| Business | ++ | +++ | — |
| City | ++ | +++ | + |
| Comedy | + | ++ | +++ |
| Cyberpunk | — | ++ | +++ |
| Dance | +++ | ++ | + |
| Detective | ++ | +++ | + |
| Dungeon | + | +++ | +++ |
|
| |||
| Evolution | + | +++ | — |
| Fantasy | +++ | +++ | +++ |
| Fashion | +++ | + | — |
| Game Dev | ++ | +++ | — |
| Government | — | +++ | + |
| Hacking | — | ++ | +++ |
| History | + | +++ | ++ |
| Horror | — | ++ | +++ |
| Hospital | — | +++ | + |
| Hunting | ++ | +++ | ++ |
|
| |||
| Law | + | +++ | — |
| Life | +++ | +++ | + |
| Martial Arts | — | ++ | +++ |
| Medieval | +++ | +++ | ++ |
| Military | — | ++ | +++ |
| Movies | ++ | +++ | ++ |
| Music | +++ | ++ | + |
| Mystery | + | ++ | +++ |
| Ninja | +++ | ++ | ++ |
| Pirate | +++ | +++ | + |
|
| |||
| Post Apocalyptic | — | ++ | +++ |
| Prison | — | ++ | +++ |
| Racing | +++ | +++ | ++ |
| Rhythm | +++ | ++ | + |
| Romance | + | +++ | +++ |
| School | +++ | ++ | — |
| Sci-Fi | + | +++ | +++ |
| Space | + | +++ | +++ |
| Sports | +++ | +++ | + |
| Spy | + | ++ | +++ |
|
| |||
| Superheroes | +++ | +++ | +++ |
| Surgery | + | +++ | ++ |
| Time Travel | ++ | +++ | + |
| Transport | ++ | +++ | — |
| UFO | + | +++ | ++ |
| Vampire | — | +++ | +++ |
| Virtual pet | +++ | + | — |
| Vocabulary | ++ | +++ | — |
| Werewolf | — | ++ | +++ |
| Wild West | +++ | ++ | +++ |
| Zombies | ++ | + | +++ |
Best Platform Audiences
| Platform | Y | E | M |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | + | ++ | +++ |
| G64 | + | ++ | +++ |
| TES | +++ | ++ | — |
| Master V | ++ | +++ | — |
| Gameling | +++ | ++ | — |
| Vena Gear | ++ | +++ | + |
| Vena Oasis | + | +++ | ++ |
| Super TES | +++ | ++ | — |
| Playsystem | + | +++ | ++ |
| TES 64 | +++ | ++ | ++ |
|
| |||
| DreamVast | — | +++ | +++ |
| Playsystem 2 | ++ | +++ | + |
| mBox | + | +++ | ++ |
| Game Sphere | ++ | ++ | + |
| GS | +++ | ++ | + |
| PPS | + | ++ | +++ |
| mBox 360 | + | ++ | +++ |
| Nuu | +++ | +++ | — |
| Playsystem 3 | + | +++ | ++ |
| grPhone | ++ | +++ | — |
| grPad | ++ | +++ | — |
| mPad | — | ++ | + |
| Wuu | ++ | +++ | — |
| OYA | + | +++ | ++ |
| mBox One | — | +++ | + |
| Playsystem 4 | + | +++ | ++ |
| mBox Next | ++ | +++ | + |
| Playsystem 5 | + | +++ | ++ |
This guide was written while playing Game Dev Tycoon on PC via Steam.
