The Game Census
Papers, Please cover art

Papers, Please

Lucas Pope · 3909 · 2013-08-08

SteamGOG

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player

Releases: Aug 05, 2022 (Android), Dec 12, 2014 (iOS), Aug 08, 2013 (Mac), Dec 12, 2017 (PlayStation Vita), Feb 12, 2014 (Linux), Aug 08, 2013 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.

433
playing now
97%
positive of 80k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam rating
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
0
twitch viewers (latest)
82/100
critic score (5 outlets, IGDB)
82/100
IGDB user rating (724 ratings)
6.2h
to beat · rushed 4h · completionist 32h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$9.99
steam price (US)

433 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 16:00 UTC (census sample)

Papers, Please is a 2013 puzzle simulation video game by Lucas Pope, developed and published independently through his production company 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for Linux on February 12, 2014, and for iOS on December 12, 2014. A port for the PlayStation Vita was announced in August 2014 and was then released on December 12, 2017. A port for Android, alongside an updated port for iOS, was released in August 2022.

Trailer

Papers, Please trailer thumbnail

Papers, Please - Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 433 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 3,649 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~456/week).
  • · Review velocity down 10% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 11,362 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-30

Estimated sales: 3.2M–6.4M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 80,330 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$9.99
lowest across shops (ITAD)$9.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.99 at Steam (2018-01-15) · bundled 1×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 6 of 13 observed days · $8.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
1.8k1.8k20182026Week of 2018-01-01: 755 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 396 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 361 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 193 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 191 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 237 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 328 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 197 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 566 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 219 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 217 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 153 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 154 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 126 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 171 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 1,274 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 1,755 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 131 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 528 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 743 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 599 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 441 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 556 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 512 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 535 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 976 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 829 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 748 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 499 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 528 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 648 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 716 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 759 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 627 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 635 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 572 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 1,179 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 761 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 941 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 1,229 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 536 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 439 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 559 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 752 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 806 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 519 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 547 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 674 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 568 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 698 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 810 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 654 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 517 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 456 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 572 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 831 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 1,038 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 1,372 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 823 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 710 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 556 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 565 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 712 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 1,683 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 729 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 629 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 593 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 683 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 786 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 533 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 652 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 618 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 599 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 586 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 896 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 554 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 397 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 418 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 549 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 659 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 651 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 425 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 489 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 388 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 437 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 511 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 678 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 488 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 331 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 323 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 812 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 515 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 603 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 392 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 368 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 336 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 357 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 368 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 612 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 481 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 21 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1.0k2192026-08-06 21:00 — 479 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 267 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 335 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 456 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 264 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 369 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 512 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 268 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 397 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 518 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 268 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 354 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 603 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 429 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 666 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 770 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 501 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 699 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 1,017 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 473 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 395 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 576 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 372 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 320 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 480 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 338 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 243 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 412 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 387 players2026-08-30 16:00 — 433 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$9.99$1.992015-01-012026-08-302015-01-01 — best price $4.992015-05-19 — best price $2.992015-06-09 — best price $2.992015-06-22 — best price $9.992015-09-11 — best price $9.992015-12-01 — best price $9.992016-01-04 — best price $9.992016-02-01 — best price $9.992016-06-22 — best price $9.992016-09-22 — best price $9.992017-01-02 — best price $9.992017-03-21 — best price $9.992017-07-24 — best price $4.992018-01-15 — best price $1.992018-02-24 — best price $4.992018-07-03 — best price $9.992018-12-20 — best price $4.992019-02-25 — best price $9.992019-05-13 — best price $9.992019-12-19 — best price $4.992020-06-25 — best price $4.992020-10-02 — best price $4.992021-06-09 — best price $4.992021-08-02 — best price $4.992021-12-20 — best price $4.992022-04-11 — best price $9.992022-07-08 — best price $9.992023-02-11 — best price $9.992023-08-12 — best price $9.992024-07-11 — best price $9.992025-01-02 — best price $9.992025-11-02 — best price $3.392026-06-17 — best price $4.992026-08-30 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

1302026-08-30 01:34 — 13 viewers2026-08-30 02:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-30 03:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 04:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-30 05:34 — 9 viewers2026-08-30 06:34 — 7 viewers2026-08-30 07:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 08:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 09:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 10:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 11:34 — 3 viewers2026-08-30 12:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-30 13:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-30 14:34 — 4 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 16:35 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 17:34 — 0 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

13
achievements tracked
57.5%
earned "Obristan Token"
15%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsSteam CloudStatsSteam LeaderboardsRemote Play on PhoneRemote Play on TabletFamily Sharing

15 supported languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Simplified Chinese…

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)70,91010%13
PS Vita (PlayStation)3,33332%13

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

2DIndieRetroPuzzleAddictivePoliticalDystopian SimulationStory RichAtmospheric

Census log

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

Players also track

Rise of VeniceImagine EarthUnclaimed WorldZigguratJudgment: Apocalypse Survival SimulationAnother Brick in The MallRusty Lake: RootsMashinky

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Reddit ↗