The Game Census
SHENZHEN I/O cover art

SHENZHEN I/O

Zachtronics · 2016-11-17

SteamGOGMicrosoft Store

IndieSimulation

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Nov 17, 2016 (Linux), Nov 17, 2016 (Mac), Oct 06, 2016 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

SHENZHEN I/O is a 2016 Indie, Simulation game priced at $14.99, with an owner estimate of 200,000 .. 500,000 and a Very Positive review sentiment (95% of 4516 reviews).

26
playing now
95%
positive of 4.5k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
71/100
IGDB user rating (11 ratings)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$14.99
steam price (US)

26 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 04:00 UTC (census sample)

Shenzhen I/O is a puzzle video game and programming game developed by Zachtronics for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS-based personal computers. The game was released in November 2016.

Trailer

SHENZHEN I/O trailer thumbnail

SHENZHEN I/O - Trailer

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

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 26 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 137 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~17/week).
  • · Review velocity down 37% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 50,282 Indie games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 113k–272k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 4,529 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$14.99
Microsoft Store$14.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $4.94 at Steam (2018-09-26) · bundled 4×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $14.99 · on sale 41 of 76 observed days · $10.05 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
10910920182026Week of 2018-01-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 103 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 109 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 70 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

70232026-09-16 06:00 — 45 players2026-09-17 13:00 — 56 players2026-09-18 21:00 — 61 players2026-09-20 04:00 — 31 players2026-09-21 12:00 — 41 players2026-09-22 20:00 — 58 players2026-09-24 03:00 — 31 players2026-09-25 11:00 — 31 players2026-09-26 18:00 — 63 players2026-09-28 02:00 — 29 players2026-09-29 09:00 — 23 players2026-09-30 17:00 — 42 players2026-10-02 00:00 — 33 players2026-10-03 08:00 — 40 players2026-10-04 16:00 — 66 players2026-10-05 23:00 — 42 players2026-10-07 07:00 — 39 players2026-10-08 14:00 — 54 players2026-10-09 22:00 — 47 players2026-10-11 05:00 — 27 players2026-10-12 13:00 — 37 players2026-10-13 21:00 — 51 players2026-10-15 04:00 — 26 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
3061Sep 2016Aug 2026Sep 2016 — avg 1 · peak 5Jan 2017 — avg 99 · peak 305May 2017 — avg 36 · peak 72Sep 2017 — avg 44 · peak 134Jan 2018 — avg 101 · peak 269May 2018 — avg 32 · peak 62Sep 2018 — avg 79 · peak 582Jan 2019 — avg 46 · peak 116May 2019 — avg 30 · peak 58Sep 2019 — avg 32 · peak 55Jan 2020 — avg 38 · peak 83May 2020 — avg 51 · peak 96Sep 2020 — avg 40 · peak 76Jan 2021 — avg 100 · peak 634May 2021 — avg 37 · peak 72Sep 2021 — avg 37 · peak 71Jan 2022 — avg 49 · peak 96May 2022 — avg 39 · peak 65Sep 2022 — avg 61 · peak 139Jan 2023 — avg 41 · peak 85May 2023 — avg 35 · peak 72Sep 2023 — avg 30 · peak 58Jan 2024 — avg 40 · peak 85May 2024 — avg 40 · peak 84Sep 2024 — avg 32 · peak 59Jan 2025 — avg 57 · peak 110May 2025 — avg 33 · peak 109Sep 2025 — avg 30 · peak 59Jan 2026 — avg 40 · peak 86May 2026 — avg 33 · peak 78Aug 2026 — avg 30 · peak 55
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$14.99$4.952016-10-062026-10-152016-10-06 — best price $13.492017-04-09 — best price $14.992017-11-16 — best price $11.242018-03-20 — best price $10.042018-07-04 — best price $14.992018-10-30 — best price $12.992019-01-10 — best price $7.492019-05-10 — best price $7.492019-08-15 — best price $14.992019-12-10 — best price $14.992020-01-27 — best price $14.992020-05-11 — best price $7.492020-09-14 — best price $7.492020-12-16 — best price $7.492021-03-17 — best price $14.992021-07-09 — best price $14.992021-12-13 — best price $7.492022-03-29 — best price $7.492022-07-27 — best price $14.992022-11-04 — best price $14.992023-01-06 — best price $14.992023-04-03 — best price $7.492023-07-14 — best price $14.992023-10-09 — best price $14.992024-01-05 — best price $14.992024-03-20 — best price $7.492024-05-30 — best price $14.992024-07-31 — best price $14.992024-10-17 — best price $14.992024-12-04 — best price $14.992025-02-10 — best price $14.992025-05-14 — best price $7.492025-08-09 — best price $14.992025-12-03 — best price $14.992026-05-28 — best price $7.492026-09-04 — best price $7.492026-09-19 — best price $14.992026-10-04 — best price $7.492026-10-15 — best price $14.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

91272026-06-04 — 38 pageviews2026-06-08 — 43 pageviews2026-06-12 — 40 pageviews2026-06-16 — 35 pageviews2026-06-20 — 36 pageviews2026-06-24 — 50 pageviews2026-06-28 — 49 pageviews2026-07-02 — 91 pageviews2026-07-06 — 63 pageviews2026-07-10 — 58 pageviews2026-07-14 — 51 pageviews2026-07-18 — 53 pageviews2026-07-22 — 56 pageviews2026-07-26 — 60 pageviews2026-07-30 — 68 pageviews2026-08-03 — 46 pageviews2026-08-07 — 39 pageviews2026-08-11 — 29 pageviews2026-08-15 — 49 pageviews2026-08-19 — 43 pageviews2026-08-23 — 41 pageviews2026-08-27 — 44 pageviews2026-08-31 — 38 pageviews2026-09-04 — 35 pageviews2026-09-08 — 32 pageviews2026-09-12 — 90 pageviews2026-09-16 — 56 pageviews2026-09-20 — 51 pageviews2026-09-24 — 48 pageviews2026-09-28 — 52 pageviews2026-10-02 — 61 pageviews2026-10-06 — 43 pageviews2026-10-10 — 35 pageviews2026-10-13 — 29 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

6
achievements tracked
46.4%
earned "CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN"
2.4%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam WorkshopSteam CloudSteam LeaderboardsIncludes level editorFamily Sharing

2 supported languages: English, Simplified Chinese

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)8,6963%6
Windows (Xbox)2,0769%10

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

2DIndieLogicPuzzleHackingSandboxBuildingDifficultEducationSolitaire

Census log

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

Players also track

Star Control®: OriginsImagine EarthUnclaimed WorldSol 0: Mars ColonizationPlanetbasePLANET ALPHAThe Last JourneyCooking Simulator

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗