The Game Census
Zero-K cover art

Zero-K

Zero-K Team · 2018-04-27

Steam

IndieSimulationStrategyFree To Play

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Oct 01, 2010 (Mac), Oct 01, 2010 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Oct 01, 2010 (Linux)

With 100+ truly unique units, Zero-K is an RTS of freedom and creativity, tempered by a decade of refinement. Sculpt land into a castle and throw invaders off it with a Jugglenaut. Explore a massive campaign, solo or co-op. Hop online for epic 32 player battles or fast paced 1v1, on 100s of maps.

Zero-K is an Indie, Simulation, Strategy, and Free To Play game released in 2018, free-to-play, with an estimated 500,000 .. 1,000,000 owners and a Very Positive review sentiment (94% of 4381 reviews).

55
playing now
94%
positive of 4.4k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Unsupported
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Unsupported
Free
steam price (US)

55 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 12:00 UTC (census sample)

Zero-K is a free multi-platform open source real-time strategy video game. Initially based on content from Total Annihilation on the open source Spring Engine, it was forked and all proprietary content replaced, and evolved into a completely new game with unique features. Among the games powered by the Spring Engine, Zero-K makes extensive use of Lua scripting for interface and gameplay changes/enhancements, as well as unique real-time strategy concepts such as a flat technology tree.

Trailer

Zero-K trailer thumbnail

Zero-K Launch Trailer

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

Health check

Healthy
  • · 55 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 283 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~35/week).
  • · Review velocity down 1% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 49,548 Indie games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
22022020182026Week of 2018-04-01: 220 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 214 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 64 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 74 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 73 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 2 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

171352026-09-15 13:00 — 61 players2026-09-16 21:00 — 79 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 48 players2026-09-19 12:00 — 99 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 171 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 73 players2026-09-23 11:00 — 44 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 98 players2026-09-26 02:00 — 116 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 107 players2026-09-28 17:00 — 110 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 91 players2026-10-01 08:00 — 42 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 88 players2026-10-03 23:00 — 155 players2026-10-05 07:00 — 49 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 70 players2026-10-07 22:00 — 55 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 43 players2026-10-10 13:00 — 99 players2026-10-11 21:00 — 137 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 82 players2026-10-14 12:00 — 55 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
29562May 2018Aug 2026May 2018 — avg 295 · peak 762Aug 2018 — avg 88 · peak 193Nov 2018 — avg 87 · peak 199Feb 2019 — avg 62 · peak 159May 2019 — avg 70 · peak 153Aug 2019 — avg 73 · peak 190Nov 2019 — avg 83 · peak 184Feb 2020 — avg 92 · peak 209May 2020 — avg 112 · peak 220Aug 2020 — avg 86 · peak 181Nov 2020 — avg 105 · peak 241Feb 2021 — avg 101 · peak 217May 2021 — avg 91 · peak 189Aug 2021 — avg 96 · peak 189Nov 2021 — avg 96 · peak 223Feb 2022 — avg 101 · peak 223May 2022 — avg 95 · peak 208Aug 2022 — avg 92 · peak 205Nov 2022 — avg 86 · peak 215Feb 2023 — avg 93 · peak 211May 2023 — avg 94 · peak 198Aug 2023 — avg 79 · peak 185Nov 2023 — avg 99 · peak 246Feb 2024 — avg 106 · peak 229May 2024 — avg 107 · peak 228Aug 2024 — avg 87 · peak 201Nov 2024 — avg 83 · peak 195Feb 2025 — avg 101 · peak 254May 2025 — avg 102 · peak 241Aug 2025 — avg 106 · peak 206Nov 2025 — avg 89 · peak 208Feb 2026 — avg 99 · peak 225May 2026 — avg 105 · peak 251Aug 2026 — avg 89 · peak 188
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Attention

3152026-05-31 — 26 pageviews2026-06-04 — 13 pageviews2026-06-08 — 22 pageviews2026-06-12 — 20 pageviews2026-06-16 — 18 pageviews2026-06-20 — 11 pageviews2026-06-24 — 10 pageviews2026-06-28 — 10 pageviews2026-07-02 — 19 pageviews2026-07-06 — 18 pageviews2026-07-10 — 12 pageviews2026-07-14 — 11 pageviews2026-07-18 — 12 pageviews2026-07-22 — 21 pageviews2026-07-26 — 19 pageviews2026-07-30 — 5 pageviews2026-08-03 — 13 pageviews2026-08-07 — 10 pageviews2026-08-11 — 17 pageviews2026-08-15 — 16 pageviews2026-08-19 — 12 pageviews2026-08-23 — 16 pageviews2026-08-27 — 20 pageviews2026-08-31 — 14 pageviews2026-09-04 — 18 pageviews2026-09-08 — 20 pageviews2026-09-12 — 12 pageviews2026-09-16 — 19 pageviews2026-09-20 — 17 pageviews2026-09-24 — 12 pageviews2026-09-28 — 21 pageviews2026-10-02 — 21 pageviews2026-10-06 — 17 pageviews2026-10-09 — 15 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsLinuxSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPCo-opOnline Co-opCross-Platform MultiplayerSteam CloudFamily Sharing3 DLC

Post-launch support: 3 DLC released, first 2018-04-27 (Steam store data)

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

RTSCo-opIndieRobotsSci-fiStrategyReal-TimeSimulationMultiplayerFree to Play

Census log

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

Recent updates

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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