The Game Census
DEFCON cover art

DEFCON

Introversion Software · 2006-09-29

SteamGOG

IndieStrategy

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative

Releases: Sep 29, 2006 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Dec 11, 2012 (Linux), Apr 19, 2007 (Mac)

Inspired by the 1983 cult classic film, Wargames, DEFCON superbly evokes the tension, paranoia and suspicion of the Cold War era, playing on the fascinating aspects of psychological gameplay that occur during strategic nuclear warfare.

9
playing now
87%
positive of 4.3k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
85/100
critic score (2 outlets, IGDB)
77/100
IGDB user rating (31 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$11.99
steam price (US)

9 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 03:00 UTC (census sample)

DEFCON is a real-time strategy game created by independent British game developer Introversion Software. The gameplay is a simulation of a global nuclear war, with the game's screen reminiscent of the "big boards" that visually represented thermonuclear war in films such as Dr. Strangelove, Fail-Safe, and especially WarGames.

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 9 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 98 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~12/week).
  • · Review velocity down 20% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 10% of 17,990 Indie games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 173k–347k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 4,333 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$3.59-70%
GOG$11.99
lowest across shops (ITAD)$11.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $0.99 at Steam (2014-11-26) · bundled 5×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $11.99 · on sale 34 of 56 observed days · $11.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
484820182026Week of 2018-01-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

2132026-08-06 22:00 — 11 players2026-08-07 06:00 — 3 players2026-08-07 14:00 — 6 players2026-08-07 22:00 — 11 players2026-08-08 06:00 — 6 players2026-08-08 14:00 — 6 players2026-08-08 22:00 — 21 players2026-08-09 06:00 — 7 players2026-08-09 14:00 — 6 players2026-08-09 22:00 — 10 players2026-08-10 06:00 — 7 players2026-08-10 15:00 — 7 players2026-08-10 23:00 — 9 players2026-08-11 07:00 — 4 players2026-08-11 15:00 — 8 players2026-08-12 22:00 — 14 players2026-08-14 06:00 — 11 players2026-08-15 14:00 — 9 players2026-08-16 22:00 — 14 players2026-08-18 05:00 — 7 players2026-08-19 13:00 — 4 players2026-08-20 20:00 — 6 players2026-08-22 04:00 — 8 players2026-08-23 11:00 — 7 players2026-08-24 19:00 — 12 players2026-08-26 03:00 — 6 players2026-08-27 11:00 — 6 players2026-08-28 19:00 — 16 players2026-08-30 03:00 — 9 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$11.99$0.992015-01-012026-08-302015-01-01 — best price $0.992015-06-11 — best price $1.492015-09-14 — best price $1.992015-12-12 — best price $2.492016-07-04 — best price $9.992016-12-12 — best price $9.992017-07-05 — best price $9.992018-02-14 — best price $9.992018-08-14 — best price $9.992019-01-03 — best price $9.992019-09-18 — best price $1.492019-12-03 — best price $9.992020-05-11 — best price $9.992020-07-09 — best price $9.992021-02-15 — best price $9.992021-06-24 — best price $1.492021-12-01 — best price $9.992022-02-14 — best price $1.492022-06-24 — best price $1.992022-09-29 — best price $1.992022-12-22 — best price $1.992023-03-16 — best price $1.992023-07-04 — best price $9.992023-09-26 — best price $9.992023-12-27 — best price $1.992024-02-14 — best price $1.992024-05-21 — best price $1.992024-11-27 — best price $3.992025-02-05 — best price $3.992025-04-10 — best price $2.992025-06-18 — best price $3.992025-08-23 — best price $11.992025-10-06 — best price $11.992025-11-25 — best price $11.992026-02-04 — best price $2.392026-03-11 — best price $2.392026-05-12 — best price $3.592026-08-01 — best price $4.792026-08-29 — best price $11.992026-08-30 — best price $11.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

95192026-05-30 — 50 pageviews2026-06-02 — 48 pageviews2026-06-05 — 59 pageviews2026-06-08 — 36 pageviews2026-06-11 — 47 pageviews2026-06-14 — 26 pageviews2026-06-17 — 32 pageviews2026-06-20 — 37 pageviews2026-06-23 — 39 pageviews2026-06-26 — 45 pageviews2026-06-29 — 38 pageviews2026-07-02 — 54 pageviews2026-07-05 — 35 pageviews2026-07-08 — 46 pageviews2026-07-11 — 41 pageviews2026-07-14 — 48 pageviews2026-07-17 — 31 pageviews2026-07-20 — 48 pageviews2026-07-23 — 52 pageviews2026-07-26 — 39 pageviews2026-07-29 — 51 pageviews2026-08-01 — 44 pageviews2026-08-04 — 54 pageviews2026-08-07 — 45 pageviews2026-08-10 — 47 pageviews2026-08-13 — 43 pageviews2026-08-16 — 51 pageviews2026-08-19 — 32 pageviews2026-08-22 — 48 pageviews2026-08-25 — 48 pageviews2026-08-27 — 45 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

22
achievements tracked
11.8%
earned "Merry Christmas"
2.6%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPLAN PvPCo-opOnline Co-opLAN Co-opCross-Platform MultiplayerSteam Achievements

5 supported languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)13,3011%22

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

Player tags

2DPvPRTSCo-opWargameCold WarMilitaryStrategyTacticalTop-Down

Census log

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

Players also track

Supreme Ruler UltimateLife is Feudal: Forest VillageAnother Brick in The MallMashinkyStartup CompanyBronze Age - HD EditionBad North: Jotunn EditionBANNERMEN

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Official site ↗