The 15 best city building games to play today

The best city building games will awaken your creativity, test your management skills, and sometimes put your tactical know-how to the test. Coming in all shapes and sizes with various environments and backdrops, many city-building gems will let you to shape and develop your very own empire or civilization, and offer up a satisfying sense of progression.

With all manner of excellent experiences to consider trying out across all platforms, many our picks here have a lot of cross over with some of the best strategy games around. From fantastical landscapes to modern metropolis cityscapes and even some with a sci-fi edge - that are also counted among some of the best space games around - we've brought together a variety of standout picks across the genre so you find something to tuck into.

And with lots of new games coming our way all the time, it's always worth checking back in with this list to see what fresh additions may be added to our selection in the future.

Read on below to find our roundup of the 15 best city building games you an play right now.

15. Tiny Glade

Developer: Pounce Light
Platforms: PC

If you're looking for a miniature building experience that will let you kick back and get creative, Tiny Glade and its delightfully chill vibes could be just what you're looking for. As a free-form builder without any goals or management challenges, Pounce Light's cozy building game taps into the satisfaction of bringing to life your own castles and buildings in an enchanting, picturesque style with a medieval feel.

With smaller dioramas instead of big sprawling cityscapes, you can really focus on carving out your own small space. From setting the walls and decorations exactly to your liking with approachable tools and plenty of ways to customize how everything looks, you can also adjust the surrounding the land and add decals.

14. Civilization 7

Developer: Firaxis Games
Platform(s): PC

While it's not a city building game in the traditional sense, the latest installment of Sid Meier's long-running strategy series, Civilization 7, puts greater emphasis on the city-building features, with cities and architectural marvels to build up and create as you develop and expand your civilization.

From making technological breakthroughs to raising an army and growing your very own empire in a procedurally generated world that's rooted in an alternate take on history. As you build up your cities through the ages, your tactical prowess will be put to the test time and again in its core campaign.

For more, read our Civilization 7 review.

13. The Colonists

Developer: Codebyte
Platform(s): Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 , PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch

If you’re after a relaxing experience that also has a cute factor, The Colonists is a pleasantly paced city-builder with adorable little robot inhabitants. As the one in charge, you control a group of robots who have escaped from Earth in search of a new home out in the galaxy. Your little Wall-E like robot friends all have the same sole dream - to be human. Since they’re robots that’s not exactly possible, but you can create a colony that resembles a human settlement and nurture them as if they were actually people. Aww.

Drawing inspiration from the Settlers and Anno series, The Colonists see you harvest resources, set up farms, research new technologies, advance through different ages, and explore the mysterious lands you settled on. Building up your colony still requires some strategy, with roads, transport systems and different infrastructures to place and create, but its gentle pace and lack of threat make for a rewarding, chilled-out time-stealer.

12. Tropico 6

Developer: Limbic Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 , PS5 PC, Nintendo Switch

Ever wanted to build and rule your very own island paradise? El Presidente returns once again, and it’s your job to fill their shoes as the tyrannical dictator or the peaceful ruler you were always born to be. Shifting its focus onto the political side of affairs, Tropico 6 introduces a new research tree that enhances your political strategies so you can be the best dictator the tropical world has ever seen.

Constructing transport systems and bridges to connect your islands is a must if you want to build up your burgeoning empire. And a big part of being a good leader is giving grandiose speeches to your citizens and giving them lots of empty promises to keep them in the palm of your hand, right? Well, maybe you’re not a good leader, but you can give a good election speech and that’s got to count for something. Oh, and don’t forget you can customize your very own palace - it’s one of the perks of the job, after all.

11. Factory Town

Developer: Erik Asmussen
Platforms: PC

After being in Early Access before the launch in 2021, this little indie number sees you transform a colorful 3D terrain into a well-oiled factory town, decked out with conveyor belts and chutes to process all the resources the landscapes have to offer you. You start out with a few workers and a single building, but after collecting minerals and crops around the procedurally generated area, you can work to transform your little lone building into a money-making hub of activity.

Researching will unlock all kinds of machinery to take some of the work out of processing resources and help your production chains flourish. Oh, and there’s also magic. You can also unlock magic-powered machines to make it all run like clockwork. The delightful city-building sim is an interesting take on the genre that'll whittle your hours away without you even realizing it.

10. Townscaper

Developer: Oskar Stålberg
Platform(s): Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

Townscaper, from developer Oskar Stålberg, is a delightfully vibrant city builder that really lets your creativity flourish. As a sandbox-style game in the genre, you have the freedom to build up your own little towns, cities, hamlets, and more. In fact, you can even make your very own city up high in the sky if you want to. Built block by block with different colors to choose from, it's incredibly satisfying to see the blocks form into buildings and expand into your very own miniature city or construction.

In Townscaper, it really is all about the building, so if you're looking to scratch that particular itch, you can't go wrong with this wonderful indie number. Seriously, we end up asking everyone if they have played Townscaper because it is just that good. With plenty of tools to create vast structures or quaint little towns with colorful houses, bridges, harbors, and more, you can marvel at your own creations and fall into the relaxing flow of bringing your designs to life.

9. The Wandering Village

Developer: Stray Fawn
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox One

Another Early Access title that has been on most city building fans' radar since 2022, The Wandering Village, is putting its own spin on the genre by asking you to create your town on the back of a massive, six-legged beast called Onbu. However, before you get excited about the creature element here, this is still a relaxing management game above all else.

As Onbu walks along you'll have to feed it, guide it, and also recognize when it needs a rest, all while building your own empire on top of it. The city building itself isn't going to reinvent the wheel, but it's the combination of how the building works with Onbu where this game really shines.

8. Dorfromantik

Developer: Toukana Interactive
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch

Dorfromantik is part city-builder, part puzzle game, and 100% chill vibes. It's one of the best relaxing games, as you get a stack of hexagonal tiles, each of which has elements of civilization on it. Homes, forests, fields, waterways, and train tracks are your staples at first, but later, you'll unlock deer, ruins, and other additional tiles to add visual interest to your creations.

There's a matching puzzle to how you build, with tasks popping up that ask you to connect certain amounts of any element together, like 300+ trees in a single forest or exactly 25 fields, so there's a wonderful blend of puzzling and pure aesthetics. It's never taxing, but it's easy to get drawn into its beautifully peaceful world and lose an hour or two to trying to best your top score.

7. Before We Leave

Developer: Balancing Monkey Games
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Before We Leave is a little bit like Anno 1800 lite. It's all about establishing colonies on islands and then working to expand your empire to new areas and, eventually, new planets, too.

Each island has unique properties, like weather and soil quality, so your priorities are always establishing good trade routes between them all to ensure every Peep in your empire has access to the things they need to be happy and healthy. It's non-violent, too, so it's just a case of enjoying watching your world grow.

6. Surviving Mars

Developer: Haemimont Games
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, Mac

Mars has always been the go-to spot when it comes to imaging where the next homeworld would be when, god forbid, Earth meets with its untimely demise. But the hostile world isn’t exactly human-friendly. With no oxygen, cold temperatures, and barren landscapes, settling down there and calling it home presents its own unique challenges. And that’s exactly what you have to try and achieve in Surviving Mars. Taking up residence on the dusty red planet, you work to set up a sustainable colony, and - in case the name wasn’t a dead giveaway - work to ensure it survives.

By exploring the unknown terrains of the alien planet and investing in research, you can improve your chances of surviving. Every colonist also has a unique personality with their own strengths and weaknesses, which can add to your problems or improve them. The retro-futuristic vibes of the domes you build make Mars look more stylish than it’s ever been before, and with some careful planning, you can create a prospering colony that will continue to spread across the alien world.

5. Timberborn

Developer: Mechanistry
Platform(s): PC

What if there was a city builder where you play as beavers? If that sounds amazing, you need to check out Timberborn. With the humans long gone, it's the beavers' time to shine and see if they can carve out a better existence for themselves. With droughts ever present in the valley, water conservation is a constant challenge, so you've got to plan ahead to ensure you can continue to provide for your population in times of scarcity.

There's farming to be done, vertical cities to be built, and technology to advance. It's all thematically adorable, and there are even two different factions to play - the nature-friendly Folktails or the industrious Iron Teeth. Each one has its unique style, buildings, and even gameplay tweaks, so there's a lot of game to enjoy here - even if it's still in Early Access.

4. Frostpunk 2

Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5

Set 30 years after the first game, Frostpunk 2 is one of the most bold sequels for city builders. Like the first game, you are the ruler of a city on Earth in a post-apocalyptic world stuck in an everlasting winter. It's up to you to keep your citizens alive and warm during storms and prepare for the "Whiteout." However, unlike the relatively intimate gameplay of the original, here, players build vast colonies, can now construct districts, and must keep all the factions involved in their political system happy or risk a collapse of stability.

That's right, not only do you have to worry about the icy weather, but you also have to worry about politics, resulting in multiple ways to play the game as you align with different philosophies (each with its own branch of perks). There are more maps, more playstyles, and more issues to juggle as you fight to survive. Frostpunk 2 is one of the best city builders of 2024, hands down. Check out our Frostpunk 2 review for more details!

3. Farthest Frontier

Developer: Crate Entertainment
Platform(s): PC

Farthest Frontier is excellent at capturing what it could have been like to be a pioneer, even though it's currently in Early Access. It's a Medieval city builder that has the potential to surprise you. It's really tethered to history, which is really interesting, and makes everything you do have a pang of authenticity about it. Food, for example, spoils, so you've got to decide what to harvest - and, more importantly, when.

Its farming systems are also really, really detailed, so prepare yourself to start thinking like a Medieval person fast. It's a lot to manage, but the overall effect is seriously cool, particularly when it starts impacting the look and feel of your settlement.

2. Anno 1800

Developer: Blue Byte
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

It’s the dawn of a pivotal new era, and you’re about to build a city that will thrive or fall as technology changes and advances. Anno 1800 plants you at the start of the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 19th century and demands that you craft and maintain a city built on the innovation of your research and technological advancement.

Building trade routes and going out on expeditions to further your research and uncover useful resources will help your newly established metropolis prosper. But as your city grows, you’ll have to deal with more problems, like competing rulers, civil strife, and political warfare, to name a few. Whether you’re diplomatic or a bit of a tyrant, you can experiment with different playstyles as you seek your fame and fortune in the industrious age.

1. Cities: Skylines

Developer: Colossal Order
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC

Calling all aspiring mayors - Cities: Skylines wants you to build the next best city. Yes, as the new mayor in town, you construct the city from the ground up, managing every aspect of its realistic economy, to its roadworks and healthcare. As fun as it is challenging, Skylines has so much depth and detail, you’ll find that mastering everything is a bit of a juggling act, but once you do you’ll truly feel like a management expert.

There’s nothing quite like transforming empty green fields of land into a flourishing megalopolis that every virtual citizen wants to call home. Facing the elements with natural disasters, pollution, traffic accidents, and anything else you can imagine, you’ll be tested in many different ways. A whole line-up of DLCs is also on offer to take your city building escapades to new heights by introducing other transit systems, alternative designs and looks, new weather conditions, and so much more.

For more, why not check out our pick of the best crafting games, best sim games, and the best classic PC games.