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Prison Manager
Run a prison day by day. Build wings, hire and roster your staff, and answer the decisions that land on your desk, from parole cases to riots. Every prisoner has a file and a life after release. Keep them in, keep them safe, and keep your job.

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Features
Single-player
Steam Workshop
Steam Cloud
Family Sharing
Steam is learning about this game 
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?

“Prison Manager is playable from start to finish: you can build or take over a prison, run it day by day and follow a career through every type of prison in the UK and the US. The game's figures are tuned to published prison statistics and tested by automated play. Early Access will help me to understand more details and shape the future of the game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“About six months.”

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

“These are my plans rather than promises, and what players tell me will change the order: balancing the career, the scenarios and the economy from real play; more ready-made buildings and prison designs; more kinds of everyday decisions and events; sharing whole prison designs on the Steam Workshop (player-made buildings and items can already be shared); building mods with their own interiors; and Steam achievements.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The full game is there: building with ready-made buildings on a living map, prisoners and staff with their own files and portraits, the weekly staff rota, the inbox of decisions (parole, early release, protection, hospital referrals and more), discipline, drugs, health, inspections, the local newspaper, life after release, four scenarios and a career across the UK and the US. Player-made items and buildings can be shared on the Steam Workshop. It is in English only and runs on Windows. Balance is still being tuned, you may meet bugs (the game menu has a Report a problem button that gathers everything I need).”

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

“Yes. The price is expected to rise when the game leaves Early Access, so buying during Early Access costs less than at full release.”

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

“Through the Steam discussion forums and the game's own Report a problem button, which saves a note, a screenshot and the save for you to send me. I read every report, and players' feedback will decide what I work on and in what order. Updates will be posted in the Steam news feed.”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Oct 28, 2026

This game plans to unlock in approximately 2 weeks

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About This Game

Keep them in. Keep them safe. Keep your job.

Prison Manager puts YOU in charge of a prison. Build it on a living map, then run it like the governor (or warden) does: every prisoner and every member of staff has a file, every day brings new decisions, and every year the boss decides whether you're promoted, kept on, or shown the door.

A living prison

  • Build wings, cells over several floors, kitchens, workshops, classrooms, healthcare, visits halls, yards, chapels and more from ready-made buildings, or take over a working prison.
  • Watch the day play out: unlock, breakfast, work and education, exercise, visits, association and lock-up. Weather, seasons, day and night, and traffic coming and going.
  • Walls, fences, gates, cameras, body scanners and drone detection all change what gets in and who gets out.

Every person has a file

  • Each prisoner has a face, a background, a sentence, a cell, friends, rivals and debts, and a custody log of everything that happens to them.
  • Hire officers, nurses, teachers, chefs and more. Plan the weekly rota, and deal with sickness, stress, pay rises and misconduct.
  • Follow people after release: housing, work, probation, and whether they come back.

Decisions on your desk

  • An inbox of real-world calls: parole recommendations, early release on a tag, hospital referrals for the mentally ill, requests for protection, funerals, weddings, journalists and MPs.
  • Adjudications, use of force, complaints and the prisons ombudsman. Drugs, debt, violence and self-harm, with ACCT plans and constant watches.
  • Big events: disorder, escapes, deaths in custody, heatwaves, drone surges and staff walkouts. Unannounced inspections grade you on safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.

Built on real figures

  • Violence, self-harm, drug use, staffing, adjudications and reoffending are tuned to published government figures for England and Wales and the United States.
  • A local newspaper reports on you every Monday, and public opinion follows.

A career

  • Start with a ready-made prison or an empty plot, or take on a scenario: turn round a failing jail, survive the 2024 overcrowding crisis, rebuild after a riot, or open a new prison.
  • Climb from open prisons to high security, move between prisons and countries, and try to reach the top of the service.

Prison Manager deals with serious subjects (violence, drugs, self-harm, deaths in custody and, in some US states, the death penalty). They are handled soberly and never shown graphically.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

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

Some in-game text (messages, news stories and descriptions) and the game's code were written with the help of AI tools, then reviewed and edited by the developer. All artwork, sound and music is made by the developer's own tools. Nothing is generated by AI while you play.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

The game is set in a prison and deals with violence, illegal drug use, self-harm, suicide, deaths in custody and, in some US states, the death penalty. These are described in text and statistics and handled soberly; nothing is shown graphically.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: 4-core 64-bit CPU, e.g. Intel Core i5-6500 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Vulkan 1.2 or DirectX 12 graphics, e.g. NVIDIA GTX 960, AMD RX 470 or Intel Iris Xe (Low graphics setting)
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Estimated requirements; a 1920 x 1080 screen is recommended.
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 11 64-bit
    • Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 or similar
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: AMD Radeon 890M or better (about 60 fps at 1920x1080 on High)
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
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