The Game Census
Ancient Cities cover art

Ancient Cities

Uncasual Games · 2023-03-24

Steam

IndieSimulationStrategy

Modes: Single player

Releases: Mar 24, 2023 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Ancient Cities is a realistic, survival city builder in an immersive procedural environment. Lead the fate of your tribe through ancient times!

14
playing now
63%
positive of 2.2k reviews
Mixed
steam rating
50,000–100,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
69/100
IGDB user rating (7 ratings)
bronze
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$29.99
steam price (US)

14 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 07:00 UTC (census sample)

Starting in with a nomadic tribe you will have to guide your people through the Neolithic revolution, discovering and improving technologies, managing resources and population, facing enemies, and ultimately, building the most fantastic city of the antiquity.(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 14 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 89 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~11/week).
  • · Review velocity down 42% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (266 reviews).
  • · Top 16% of 17,990 Indie games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 43k–97k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 2,160 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $7.49 at Steam (2026-05-14)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $29.99 · on sale 10 of 16 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
15615620202026Week of 2020-12-01: 156 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 110 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 3 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

35112026-08-11 21:00 — 33 players2026-08-12 13:00 — 30 players2026-08-13 05:00 — 19 players2026-08-13 20:00 — 25 players2026-08-14 12:00 — 28 players2026-08-15 04:00 — 20 players2026-08-15 20:00 — 31 players2026-08-16 12:00 — 28 players2026-08-17 04:00 — 15 players2026-08-17 20:00 — 34 players2026-08-18 11:00 — 20 players2026-08-19 03:00 — 18 players2026-08-19 19:00 — 26 players2026-08-20 11:00 — 13 players2026-08-21 03:00 — 14 players2026-08-21 18:00 — 29 players2026-08-22 10:00 — 25 players2026-08-23 02:00 — 16 players2026-08-23 18:00 — 27 players2026-08-24 09:00 — 16 players2026-08-25 01:00 — 15 players2026-08-25 17:00 — 29 players2026-08-26 08:00 — 17 players2026-08-27 00:00 — 14 players2026-08-27 16:00 — 21 players2026-08-28 08:00 — 11 players2026-08-28 23:00 — 15 players2026-08-29 15:00 — 35 players2026-08-30 07:00 — 14 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$49.99$7.492020-12-172026-07-232020-12-17 — best price $49.992022-11-29 — best price $39.992023-01-05 — best price $39.992023-03-31 — best price $39.992023-07-13 — best price $39.992023-11-28 — best price $39.992024-01-04 — best price $39.992024-03-21 — best price $39.992024-04-01 — best price $39.992024-06-27 — best price $19.492024-07-15 — best price $19.492024-09-02 — best price $14.992024-10-10 — best price $19.492024-11-27 — best price $22.492024-12-09 — best price $19.492024-12-19 — best price $19.492025-01-28 — best price $22.492025-03-13 — best price $22.492025-03-24 — best price $14.992025-05-01 — best price $17.992025-06-16 — best price $20.992025-06-27 — best price $23.992025-07-31 — best price $14.992025-09-22 — best price $14.992025-10-06 — best price $29.992025-12-18 — best price $14.992026-01-29 — best price $22.492026-03-19 — best price $14.992026-04-09 — best price $29.992026-05-28 — best price $29.992026-07-09 — best price $14.992026-07-23 — best price $29.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Completion

30
achievements tracked
76.6%
earned "Spring start"
13.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam WorkshopCustom Volume ControlsAdjustable DifficultyPlayable without Timed InputSave AnytimeStereo SoundSurround SoundFamily Sharing

9 supported languages: English, French, Spanish - Spain, German, Spanish - Latin America, Portuguese - Brazil, Portuguese - Portugal, Catalan, Italian

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)2860%30

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

CozyEconomyBuildingModdableRelaxingStrategySurvivalRealisticColony SimHistorical

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsSurvivalistColony SurvivalLife is Feudal: Forest VillageMedieval Kingdom WarsMashinkyBronze Age - HD EditionDawn of Man

Similarity via IGDB.

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