The Game Census
Ancient Cities cover art

Ancient Cities

Uncasual Games · 2023-03-24

Steam

IndieSimulationStrategy

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

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!

Ancient Cities is an Indie, Simulation, and Strategy game released in 2023, priced at $29.99, with an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 owners and a Mixed review sentiment (63% of 2166 reviews).— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

33
playing now
63%
positive of 2.2k reviews
Mixed
steam's rating (official)
50,000–100,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
69/100
IGDB user rating (7 ratings)
bronze
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$29.99
steam price (US)

33 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 17:00 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
  • · 33 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 7% of 49,346 Indie games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 43k–97k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 2,166 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 8 of 13 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

4472026-09-15 02:00 — 13 players2026-09-16 10:00 — 16 players2026-09-17 18:00 — 23 players2026-09-19 01:00 — 11 players2026-09-20 09:00 — 23 players2026-09-21 17:00 — 21 players2026-09-23 00:00 — 18 players2026-09-24 08:00 — 7 players2026-09-25 15:00 — 21 players2026-09-26 23:00 — 14 players2026-09-28 06:00 — 11 players2026-09-29 14:00 — 18 players2026-09-30 21:00 — 22 players2026-10-02 05:00 — 13 players2026-10-03 12:00 — 17 players2026-10-04 20:00 — 33 players2026-10-06 04:00 — 11 players2026-10-07 11:00 — 26 players2026-10-08 19:00 — 24 players2026-10-10 02:00 — 16 players2026-10-11 10:00 — 44 players2026-10-12 18:00 — 38 players2026-10-14 01:00 — 16 players2026-10-14 17:00 — 33 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
11811Dec 2020Aug 2026Dec 2020 — avg 118 · peak 539Feb 2021 — avg 24 · peak 82Apr 2021 — avg 19 · peak 56Jun 2021 — avg 11 · peak 27Aug 2021 — avg 17 · peak 49Oct 2021 — avg 15 · peak 59Dec 2021 — avg 17 · peak 46Feb 2022 — avg 13 · peak 49Apr 2022 — avg 24 · peak 82Jun 2022 — avg 20 · peak 99Aug 2022 — avg 38 · peak 160Oct 2022 — avg 18 · peak 47Dec 2022 — avg 33 · peak 89Feb 2023 — avg 27 · peak 70Apr 2023 — avg 114 · peak 366Jun 2023 — avg 24 · peak 53Aug 2023 — avg 26 · peak 62Oct 2023 — avg 26 · peak 98Dec 2023 — avg 62 · peak 240Feb 2024 — avg 44 · peak 96Apr 2024 — avg 66 · peak 264Jun 2024 — avg 30 · peak 71Aug 2024 — avg 40 · peak 102Oct 2024 — avg 44 · peak 122Dec 2024 — avg 41 · peak 105Feb 2025 — avg 34 · peak 82Apr 2025 — avg 47 · peak 129Jun 2025 — avg 27 · peak 74Aug 2025 — avg 31 · peak 86Oct 2025 — avg 34 · peak 106Dec 2025 — avg 31 · peak 70Feb 2026 — avg 23 · peak 67Apr 2026 — avg 20 · peak 50Jun 2026 — avg 22 · peak 53Aug 2026 — avg 25 · peak 60
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

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.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

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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