The Game Census
Buddy Simulator 1984 cover art

Buddy Simulator 1984

Not a Sailor Studios · 2021-02-18

SteamGOGPlayStation StoreEpic Games StoreMicrosoft Store

AdventureCasualIndieRPGSimulation

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric, Text

Releases: Feb 18, 2021 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Apr 06, 2023 (PlayStation 4), Apr 06, 2023 (PlayStation 5), Oct 27, 2022 (Nintendo Switch), Apr 06, 2023 (Xbox One), Apr 06, 2023 (Xbox Series X|S)

Thanks to next generation AI technology, BUDDY SIMULATOR 1984 simulates the experience of hanging out with a best buddy! Your buddy learns from you, constantly adapting to your interests and personality. But most importantly, your buddy can play games with you!

4
playing now
93%
positive of 4.4k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
80/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
70/100
IGDB user rating (16 ratings)
2
Nexus mods (205 downloads)
4.47★
PlayStation Store rating (178 ratings)
6h
time to beat (IGDB)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$9.99
steam price (US)

4 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 13:00 UTC (census sample)

Buddy Simulator 1984 is a horror adventure/role-playing video game, developed by Chicago-based team Not a Sailor Studios. It was first released for Windows on February 18, 2021, before being released on October 27, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, and on PlayStation 4, 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 6, 2023. The game presents itself as a piece of text-based software from the year 1984, that allows the player to interact with an AI virtual "buddy".

Trailer

Buddy Simulator 1984 trailer thumbnail

Buddy Simulator 1984 | Official Nintendo Switch Launch Trailer

≈554,621 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 4 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 157 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~20/week).
  • · Review velocity down 36% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 6% of 28,763 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-29

Estimated sales: 87k–196k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 4,359 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$9.99
Microsoft Store$9.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.99 at Steam (2026-06-25) · bundled 5×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 3 of 53 observed days · $8.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
38338320212026Week of 2021-02-01: 307 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 159 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 383 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 260 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 100 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 100 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 151 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 64 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

3422026-09-15 13:00 — 5 players2026-09-16 22:00 — 10 players2026-09-18 05:00 — 5 players2026-09-19 13:00 — 4 players2026-09-20 20:00 — 8 players2026-09-22 04:00 — 9 players2026-09-23 12:00 — 5 players2026-09-24 19:00 — 6 players2026-09-26 03:00 — 7 players2026-09-27 10:00 — 7 players2026-09-28 18:00 — 8 players2026-09-30 01:00 — 6 players2026-10-01 09:00 — 3 players2026-10-02 16:00 — 7 players2026-10-04 00:00 — 6 players2026-10-05 08:00 — 2 players2026-10-06 15:00 — 5 players2026-10-07 23:00 — 4 players2026-10-09 06:00 — 6 players2026-10-10 14:00 — 4 players2026-10-11 22:00 — 4 players2026-10-13 05:00 — 6 players2026-10-14 13:00 — 4 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
1033Feb 2021Aug 2026Feb 2021 — avg 103 · peak 195Apr 2021 — avg 19 · peak 53Jun 2021 — avg 15 · peak 58Aug 2021 — avg 42 · peak 155Oct 2021 — avg 21 · peak 71Dec 2021 — avg 15 · peak 48Feb 2022 — avg 35 · peak 356Apr 2022 — avg 12 · peak 33Jun 2022 — avg 13 · peak 44Aug 2022 — avg 10 · peak 26Oct 2022 — avg 10 · peak 36Dec 2022 — avg 11 · peak 40Feb 2023 — avg 12 · peak 38Apr 2023 — avg 6 · peak 18Jun 2023 — avg 5 · peak 20Aug 2023 — avg 5 · peak 14Oct 2023 — avg 5 · peak 22Dec 2023 — avg 6 · peak 22Feb 2024 — avg 7 · peak 33Apr 2024 — avg 6 · peak 17Jun 2024 — avg 6 · peak 23Aug 2024 — avg 4 · peak 13Oct 2024 — avg 4 · peak 12Dec 2024 — avg 7 · peak 22Feb 2025 — avg 4 · peak 13Apr 2025 — avg 3 · peak 9Jun 2025 — avg 5 · peak 16Aug 2025 — avg 5 · peak 17Oct 2025 — avg 6 · peak 26Dec 2025 — avg 6 · peak 19Feb 2026 — avg 3 · peak 10Apr 2026 — avg 22 · peak 96Jun 2026 — avg 11 · peak 62Aug 2026 — avg 8 · peak 18
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$9.99$1.992021-02-182026-10-142021-02-18 — best price $8.992021-06-24 — best price $7.992021-07-29 — best price $7.992021-10-20 — best price $5.992021-11-24 — best price $6.992022-01-06 — best price $7.992022-03-31 — best price $6.992022-05-14 — best price $9.992022-07-08 — best price $8.992022-07-21 — best price $9.992022-08-31 — best price $7.342022-11-29 — best price $9.992023-01-05 — best price $9.992023-03-16 — best price $5.492023-07-13 — best price $9.992023-09-18 — best price $9.992023-11-28 — best price $9.992024-02-25 — best price $9.992024-07-11 — best price $9.992024-12-04 — best price $9.992025-03-20 — best price $9.992025-07-10 — best price $9.992025-11-03 — best price $9.992026-07-09 — best price $9.992026-09-01 — best price $9.992026-09-05 — best price $9.992026-09-09 — best price $9.992026-09-13 — best price $9.992026-09-17 — best price $9.992026-09-21 — best price $9.992026-09-25 — best price $9.992026-09-29 — best price $9.992026-10-03 — best price $9.992026-10-07 — best price $9.992026-10-11 — best price $9.992026-10-14 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

8362026-05-31 — 11 pageviews2026-06-04 — 44 pageviews2026-06-08 — 15 pageviews2026-06-12 — 9 pageviews2026-06-16 — 13 pageviews2026-06-20 — 19 pageviews2026-06-24 — 12 pageviews2026-06-28 — 16 pageviews2026-07-02 — 15 pageviews2026-07-06 — 18 pageviews2026-07-10 — 19 pageviews2026-07-14 — 24 pageviews2026-07-18 — 23 pageviews2026-07-22 — 10 pageviews2026-07-26 — 24 pageviews2026-07-30 — 11 pageviews2026-08-03 — 11 pageviews2026-08-07 — 9 pageviews2026-08-11 — 27 pageviews2026-08-15 — 20 pageviews2026-08-19 — 14 pageviews2026-08-23 — 17 pageviews2026-08-27 — 32 pageviews2026-08-31 — 83 pageviews2026-09-04 — 16 pageviews2026-09-08 — 15 pageviews2026-09-12 — 15 pageviews2026-09-16 — 7 pageviews2026-09-20 — 19 pageviews2026-09-24 — 11 pageviews2026-09-28 — 15 pageviews2026-10-02 — 12 pageviews2026-10-06 — 6 pageviews2026-10-09 — 7 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

30
achievements tracked
84.7%
earned "Wakey Wakey!"
26.8%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsFamily Sharing1 DLC

1 supported languages: English

Post-launch support: 1 DLC released, first 2021-05-12 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)3,6455%30
PS5 (PlayStation)2938%30
Xbox Series, Xbox One (Xbox)744%30
PS4 (PlayStation)4819%30
Switch (Nintendo)200%0

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

2DRPGCute1980sIndieRetroCasualHorrorAdventureSimulation

Census log

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

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsUnclaimed WorldGET EVENChildren of MortaMomodora: Reverie Under The MoonlightCelesteThe Last JourneyCHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience

Similarity via IGDB.

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