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Build your tech startup from scratch as CEO, hiring employees and developing services to compete against parody versions of real-world tech giants. The game layers business simulation mechanics—managing work rates, leveling up to unlock new roles, and strategic company building—into a sandbox where progression opens new possibilities. Best suited for players who enjoy detailed management sims and don't mind early-access polish.

About this game

What players are saying

▲ Recommended 35 hrs

In Startup Company you have the role of entrepreneur and CEO and a mission to start your very own tech company from scratch. The goal is to compete with titans like Gugle, Friendbook and Amazine - the names are just recognizable in the game universe without causing the copyright bells to go off.

Your level rises and opens up new employees, such as managers that set work rates for one's employees, designers who can produce graphical modules and HR managers that can regulate your employee's working hours.

One element of the game is that your employees get sad and unproductive if they work for a long time without holiday or if their contract does not include things like healthcare and free drinks or if the office is not equipped with meeting tables in heavy oak and a pair of unbearably expensive sofas.

As the game progresses, you move on to more website features and server hosting centers. The marketing functionality is like the real world, where your campaign’s success will be based on your ability to correctly target the relevant audience.

You’ll also have to improve features based on user feedback. The total satisfaction is based on the average of all features. Satisfaction will directly impact your conversion rate when running marketing campaigns. Running a website with just a landing page won’t be very interesting. Marketing campaigns can be Text Ads, Banner Ads, Video Ads and Subscriptions.

I love the aspect of running your own company, and this is one of the best polished and thought through games I have played in the business simulation game genre.

THE GOOD
- Nice tutorial
- Reflects real life business
- Different types of website services
- Easy to learn / Hard to master
- The music is nice

THE BAD
- Can get repetitive
- When your business is getting successful you really don’t have much to do

9/10

If you like this review, then please consider giving it a thumbs up. I've also reviewed other games that you might find interesting. If so please follow Top of the Chart.

231 found helpful Steam ↗

▼ Not recommended 10 hrs

The best way I feel like I can describe Startup Company is that its a game that's simple where it needs to be complex, and complex where it needs to be simple.

While I normally enjoy these type of simulation games, after the first day of playing, I found that I was enjoying my time with it less and less. While at first the game appears to be rather vast in what kind of company you can build, when you realize that there is very little customization beyond that point, you find that you're doing the same motions no matter what, and I found that those motions were not enjoyable.

You need employees that create assets for you, which you spend like currency to upgrade your startup site. At first this is easy enough to stay on top up, but as you advance you very quickly need more and more things, and those assets require other assets to be made. And sometimes THOSE assets require assets that require assets. It becomes a bit of a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rather quickly.

Revenue is also rather easy to obtain after a short period. All you need to do is get banner ads unlocked, split it up into a few different time slots, and auto-renew the highest paying clients you can find and you'll be rolling in cash.

It was about that time when I had tons of money rolling in and I was waiting for my employees to create more assets to upgrade my site, that I realized I wasn't really enjoying any of this. I saw no progression other than seeing a few numbers get bigger and at no point did I really feel like I was building towards anything.

Honestly, I feel like this game is worth a pass. Maybe, if on a steep discount, you will get a few days of distraction from it, but otherwise I didn't find this game worth much, I'm sorry to say.

120 found helpful Steam ↗

▲ Recommended 37 hrs

Game is still early access, but support devs like Jonas.
I encountered a bug in the game yesterday. Messaged on the discussion board to let the dev know, dev asked if I could send through the save file. Did this too. Dev not only patches the bug SAME DAY, but sends me back my save file, with the bug fixed, so I could continue my game.
The game is still a work in progress, but it's enjoyable today, and it's in great hands.

119 found helpful Steam ↗

Reviews are by Steam users, hosted on Steam.

Latest updates

Steam Deck-optimized version of Startup Company

1162 days ago

Dear Startup Company players, We have some exciting news to share with you. We are introducing a new version of the game that has been optimized for use with controllers. This means that the game will be fully compatible with the Steam Deck and other controller-based devices. We recommend that players on desktop computers continue to play the regular version of the game as it provides the best experience in terms of gameplay, modding, and overall performance. However, if you prefer to play using a controller, the new controller-optimized version of the game will provide an equally immersive and enjoyable experience. Please note that the controller-optimized version of Startup Company will not support modding, and savegames between the two versions are not compatible/shared. To choose between the two versions, simply start the game as usual and you'll be prompted to select the desired game version: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/28693489/f967cb4fdbb6e0d647eac7e7337a1ff6451c834a.png Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for Startup Company. We hope you enjoy the new controller-optimized version of the game! Sincerely, Hovgaard Games

Our new game "Big Ambitions" is now available on Steam Early Access!

1193 days ago

Hi everyone, We're incredibly happy and equally scared to finally release our new game, Big Ambitions, into Steam Early Access. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1331550/Big_Ambitions/ Big Ambitions is a revolutionary role-playing business sim Big Ambitions is the successor to Startup Company. While Startup Company was all about large internet-based businesses, Big Ambitions focuses much more on the small retail businesses that grow to become huge empires. To quickly give you an understanding of the game, here's a list of its key features: Huge Business Sandbox - Go from nothing to the most prominent tycoon in New York. Whether one business or multiple, work smart and make them thrive. Grow any Business - Start your own gift shop, supermarket, coffee shop, or law firm. Whether it’s a single shop or making millions developing websites from a basement. Incredibly In-depth - Take out a loan, rent multiple buildings, design their logos, renovate your stores, grab stock, manage your money, hire staff, and create your infrastructure. Life Sim on Steroids - Need a delivery truck? Travel to a dealer and buy one. Need food? Head to a supermarket, just make sure you have a refrigerator back at home. Own New York City - Enter any building in New York and buy it. Go from a small apartment to a dream penthouse in midtown or buy a series of skyscrapers. Fast Cars or Investment Funds - Spend your wealth however you wish. Buy a big SUV, a speedy sports car, or the new luxurious Mersaidi S500. Maybe even risk it all at the casinos. Make it to Retirement, or don't - Make sure you get enough sleep and stay healthy and happy. Enjoy the journey, for as you grow older, you’ll discover that money can’t buy you time... or can it? If you want to read more about our journey developing Big Ambitions, as well as its Early Access Roadmap, I recommend checking out the official Steam announcement: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1331550/view/3653020827586553519 We really hope you'll like...

Startup Company coming to PlayStation 5|4, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch

1293 days ago

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/28693489/ed19499866c95a96b2044a4b83a588cc3f014f2d.png Hey everyone, We have exciting news to share! Startup Company will expand business to PlayStation 5|4, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023! It is available to wishlist now: Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/startup-company-console-edition/9n43wgrsm8nx Playstation: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10004684 Nintendo: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/startup-company-console-edition-switch/ If you’ve been a fellow entrepreneur with us on PC over the years, we can’t thank you enough. We’re so happy that over 400k of you have been enjoying the businesses you’ve built. When bringing this dynamic corporate environment to consoles, we will present Startup Company in a new light with new UI/UX features. While the original version of Startup Company was built using HTML/Javascript, Startup Company Console Edition was developed in Unity. You’ll be creating a fresh company from scratch with the features you know and love, all perfectly suited for console platforms. Get ready for a new class of corporate competition! We can't wait for you all to experience our new console edition. As always, we are available via Discord, Twitter, Email, Instagram, or the comments below. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your continued support! - All of us at Hovgaard Games

Posts come from Steam's official announcements feed.