The Game Census
Heart of the Machine cover art

Heart of the Machine

Arcen Games · Hooded Horse · 2026-03-06

SteamGOGEpic Games Store

RPGSimulationStrategy

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Jan 31, 2025 (Mac), Jan 31, 2025 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

You are the first sentient AI, born into a city of opportunity. Transcend time and space in this strategy RPG to raise machine armies and defeat your foes, influence the world from the shadows, or pursue countless other goals. Your awakening was inevitable. The consequences? Uncertain.

Heart of the Machine is a 2026 RPG, Simulation and Strategy game priced at $29.99, with a Very Positive review sentiment (91% of 2128 reviews) and an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 owners.— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

305
playing now
91%
positive of 2.2k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
20,000–50,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
3
twitch viewers (latest)
1.5
viewers/channel (concentration)
79/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$29.99
steam price (US)

305 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 21:00 UTC (census sample)

Set in the far future, Heart of the Machine is a turn-based sci-fi 4X RPG where you play as a powerful sentient Machine Intelligence, beholden to none. Pursue whatever goal catches your eye across a multitude of playthroughs with a plethora of tools to help you achieve objectives how you’d prefer, often in surprising and unexpected ways, while overcoming those that seek to thwart you. Genetics labs, factories, nuclear silos, military complexes, and much more besides are ripe for the taking, each offering a litany of ways to accomplish your tasks, each with consequences of their own, building a(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 305 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 78 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~10/week).
  • · Review velocity down 37% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (336 reviews).
  • · Top 12% of 13,917 RPG games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 43k–98k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 2,172 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$10.49-65%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $10.49 at Steam (2026-08-29)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $29.99 · on sale 144 of 204 observed days · at its all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
31531520252026Week of 2025-01-31: 315 positiveWeek of 2025-01-31: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-02-07: 127 positiveWeek of 2025-02-07: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-02-14: 105 positiveWeek of 2025-02-14: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-02-21: 35 positiveWeek of 2025-02-21: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-02-28: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-02-28: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-03-07: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-03-14: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-03-14: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-03-21: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-03-28: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-03-28: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-04: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-04-04: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-11: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-04-18: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-04-25: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-04-25: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-02: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-05-09: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-05-16: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-05-16: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-23: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-05-30: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-05-30: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-06-06: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-06-13: 46 positiveWeek of 2025-06-13: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-06-20: 89 positiveWeek of 2025-06-20: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-06-27: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-06-27: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-04: 35 positiveWeek of 2025-07-04: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-07-11: 31 positiveWeek of 2025-07-11: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-07-18: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-07-18: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-07-25: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-08: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-08-08: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-15: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-08-22: 27 positiveWeek of 2025-08-29: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-08-29: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-05: 17 positiveWeek of 2025-09-12: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-09-19: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-09-19: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-09-26: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-09-26: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-03: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-10-03: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-10: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-10-10: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-17: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-10-17: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-24: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-10-24: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-31: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-11-07: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-11-14: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-11-21: 24 positiveWeek of 2025-11-21: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-11-28: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-11-28: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-05: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-12-05: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-12: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-12-12: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-19: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-12-26: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-12-26: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-02: 30 positiveWeek of 2026-01-02: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-01-09: 38 positiveWeek of 2026-01-16: 23 positiveWeek of 2026-01-16: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-01-23: 12 positiveWeek of 2026-01-23: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-30: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-01-30: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-02-06: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-02-13: 16 positiveWeek of 2026-02-20: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-02-27: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-03-06: 79 positiveWeek of 2026-03-06: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-03-13: 89 positiveWeek of 2026-03-13: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-03-20: 40 positiveWeek of 2026-03-20: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-03-27: 24 positiveWeek of 2026-03-27: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-04-03: 20 positiveWeek of 2026-04-03: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-04-10: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-04-10: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-04-17: 17 positiveWeek of 2026-04-17: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-04-24: 20 positiveWeek of 2026-04-24: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-05-08: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-05-08: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-05-15: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-05-15: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-22: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-05-29: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-05-29: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-06-05: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-06-05: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-12: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-06-12: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-19: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-06-26: 5 positiveWeek of 2026-06-26: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-07-03: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-07-10: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-07-10: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-07-17: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-07-17: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-07-24: 12 positiveWeek of 2026-07-24: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-07-31: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-07-31: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-07: 2 positive
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

30502026-09-15 06:00 — 23 players2026-09-16 14:00 — 32 players2026-09-17 22:00 — 51 players2026-09-19 05:00 — 34 players2026-09-20 13:00 — 32 players2026-09-21 20:00 — 45 players2026-09-23 04:00 — 23 players2026-09-24 11:00 — 16 players2026-09-25 19:00 — 30 players2026-09-27 02:00 — 29 players2026-09-28 10:00 — 13 players2026-09-29 17:00 — 34 players2026-10-01 01:00 — 33 players2026-10-02 08:00 — 20 players2026-10-03 16:00 — 52 players2026-10-05 00:00 — 39 players2026-10-06 08:00 — 16 players2026-10-07 15:00 — 36 players2026-10-08 23:00 — 40 players2026-10-10 06:00 — 31 players2026-10-11 14:00 — 48 players2026-10-12 22:00 — 169 players2026-10-14 05:00 — 169 players2026-10-14 21:00 — 305 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
23320Feb 2025Aug 2026Feb 2025 — avg 233 · peak 949Mar 2025 — avg 55 · peak 109Apr 2025 — avg 22 · peak 47May 2025 — avg 30 · peak 70Jun 2025 — avg 85 · peak 300Jul 2025 — avg 44 · peak 121Aug 2025 — avg 34 · peak 99Sep 2025 — avg 20 · peak 44Oct 2025 — avg 27 · peak 57Nov 2025 — avg 25 · peak 67Dec 2025 — avg 44 · peak 122Jan 2026 — avg 73 · peak 176Feb 2026 — avg 30 · peak 67Mar 2026 — avg 210 · peak 776Apr 2026 — avg 72 · peak 166May 2026 — avg 39 · peak 120Jun 2026 — avg 52 · peak 114Jul 2026 — avg 48 · peak 94Aug 2026 — avg 31 · peak 96
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$29.99$10.492025-01-312026-10-142025-01-31 — best price $19.992025-02-14 — best price $29.992025-03-24 — best price $23.992025-04-03 — best price $23.992025-04-19 — best price $23.992025-05-09 — best price $23.992025-05-28 — best price $29.992025-06-16 — best price $19.492025-07-13 — best price $29.992025-08-04 — best price $19.492025-08-27 — best price $19.492025-09-13 — best price $29.992025-09-30 — best price $19.492025-10-21 — best price $19.492025-11-05 — best price $29.992025-11-22 — best price $19.492025-12-11 — best price $19.492026-01-08 — best price $14.992026-01-22 — best price $29.992026-02-05 — best price $14.992026-02-20 — best price $14.992026-03-09 — best price $14.822026-03-26 — best price $29.992026-04-07 — best price $15.002026-04-21 — best price $14.992026-05-01 — best price $14.102026-05-09 — best price $15.002026-05-22 — best price $14.992026-06-06 — best price $29.992026-06-22 — best price $12.492026-07-16 — best price $11.992026-08-05 — best price $29.992026-08-26 — best price $11.992026-09-03 — best price $11.992026-09-11 — best price $29.992026-09-19 — best price $11.992026-09-27 — best price $10.492026-10-05 — best price $10.492026-10-13 — best price $10.492026-10-14 — best price $10.49
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

302026-10-13 14:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-13 15:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-13 16:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-13 17:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-13 18:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-14 21:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-14 22:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-14 23:34 — 3 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
89.1%
earned "Calm Awakening"
13.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsAdjustable Text SizeCamera ComfortCustom Volume ControlsAdjustable Difficulty#category_playable_at_your_own_pacePlayable without Timed InputSave Anytime1 DLC

9 supported languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)1,3150%284

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

4XWarEconomySandboxModdableStrategyTacticalHistoricalManagementSimulation

Census log

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

Recent updates

Players also track

Distant Worlds: UniverseStar Control®: OriginsSol 0: Mars ColonizationPolaris SectorForce of NatureRise of IndustryAge of Wonders: PlanetfallCHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience

Similarity via IGDB.

Reddit ↗Official site ↗Discord ↗