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Nuclear Design Bureau
Design. Detonate. Survive. As the Chief Engineer of the Kurchatov Institute, you must design atomic devices to satisfy the demands of the State. A hardcore physics-based puzzle game simulating hydrodynamics, neutron transport, and thermonuclear fusion.

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Features
Single-player
Steam Achievements
Steam Cloud
Family Sharing
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Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“I want to release into early access because I am not sure where the final product will go. I want the users base to participate in development. I have a lot of ideas and I'd like to hear from players what they want. THIS IS A PROTOTYPE, NOT A FINISHED GAME, THERE WILL BE BUGS, MISSING OR BROKEN FEATURES, AND BIG CHANGES COMING. ”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I currently plan for Early Access to run about 6 to 12 months. I will keep updating throughout that period and adjust based on how development and feedback progress.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“My goal is to make the one stop shop for nuclear weapons games.
Much smaller grid
Extremely detailed and realistic detonation viewer (proper hydrodynamic simulation)
more accurate physics
more design possibilities
deeper physics engine
better visuals
leader boards
Much more fleshed out campaign based on the better physics
voiced campaign
And whatever great ideas the community will come up with

”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version is fully playable and already includes the core gameplay loop of designing, simulating, detonating, and iterating. It includes sandbox play, campaign directives, multiple tools and materials, telemetry systems, and saved setups. I will continue improving stability, balance, and content depth over time.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes. I plan to start with an introductory Early Access price and raise it gradually as major updates and content milestones are delivered. The full release is planned to be priced higher than Early Access.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“I will use Discord as my main development feedback channel because I can talk to players there every day. I will watch what people build, listen to where they get stuck, and use that to prioritize fixes and updates. I will also use Steam Discussions, but Discord will be where most day to day iteration happens.”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Q1 2026

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About This Game

NUCLEAR DESIGN BUREAU is a hardcore sandbox engineering game where you design and test nuclear devices.

You are the Chief Engineer of a secret Soviet design bureau. The State gives you a target and a warehouse full of dangerous materials. In some directives, your available materials are limited. Your task is simple: build a device that gets the job done.

THIS IS A PROTOTYPE, NOT A FINISHED GAME. THERE WILL BE BUGS, MISSING OR BROKEN FEATURES, AND BIG CHANGES COMING.

HOW IT WORKS

- Receive Directive: Read technical mission requirements and constraints, including material limits in specific directives.

- Design: Paint materials directly onto the blueprint grid. Build your primary, casing, and supporting systems.

- Simulate: Hit the red button, run full detonation physics in real time, and watch the blast in the detonation viewer.

- Refine: If it fizzles, fails, or wastes material, iterate and improve.

CORE FEATURES

- Physics-Driven Simulation: Shockwaves, heat, radiation, and chain-reaction behavior are modeled in real time.

- Detonation Viewer: Observe detonations as they unfold, with live visual feedback on blast behavior.

- Campaign Directives: Structured mission progression with technical goals and constraints.

- Sandbox Mode: Unlimited experimentation with full design freedom.

- Iterative Engineering Loop: Build, test, diagnose, and optimize.

EARLY ACCESS STATUS (CURRENT BUILD)

The current Early Access build is fully playable and includes the core gameplay loop:

- Design -> Simulate -> Refine

- Sandbox mode

- Campaign directives

- Save/load systems with ongoing stability improvements

This is an active development build. Expect balance changes, physics upgrades, and campaign iteration during Early Access.

EARLY ACCESS ROADMAP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Physics and Simulation

- More realistic detonation viewer (better shockwaves, 3D-style presentation, damage radius + thermal radiation modeling, destructible buildings/targets)

- Smaller grid mode for higher realism

- Improved compression physics

- Levitated pit physics

- Fission boosting with D-T gas

Campaign and Content

- Rebuild and expand campaign around updated grid, physics, and destruction systems

- Many more directives/missions

- Voiced campaign

- Additional bomb concepts (high-radiation designs, clean bombs, neutron bombs)

- More advanced materials

Presentation and Audio

- More music tracks

Community and Meta

- Public leaderboard

DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

Early Access is where this game gets shaped in public. Player feedback will guide balancing, campaign pacing, clarity, and polish as we move toward full release.

"The atom is not a soldier, Comrade. It is a force of nature. We merely tell it where to go."

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

This game uses AI-assisted images, text, and code created during development; all content was reviewed and edited by the developer, and no AI content is generated during gameplay.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game depicts the design and testing of nuclear weapons. While there is no graphic violence against humans, the themes of nuclear proliferation and mass destruction are treated with a serious tone appropriate for a mature audience.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
    • Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent (Dual Core 2.4GHz+)
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / AMD Radeon HD 7870 (DirectX 11 compatible)
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
    • Processor: Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or better
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
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