Prison Architect

‘s next expansion is called Going Green, and it marks the incarceration simulator’s arrival in the pantheon of games that really want to be Stardew Valley. It introduces farming as a new type of labor your inmates can undertake, the food they grow can be turned into meals or exported for profit, and it also creates the possibility sneaky prisoners might grow illicit “herbs”. Oregano, I assume?

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Every developer, I reckon, has a dusty folder of abandoned, cancelled or otherwise lost projects. Hell, I’ve even got a few lurking on my desktop myself. While these unfortunate prototypes rarely see the light of day, Prison Architect creators Introversion have begun releasing their doomed prototypes, bringing them out one-by-one as part of a new YouTube series to raise money for conflict charity War Child.

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2020 was a pretty good year for management games, but nothing released in the past 12 months has impressed us enough to squeeze its way into our best management games list. Don’t worry, though – it’s only because there are already so many classics to choose from. If you’re looking for something to sink into over the holidays, check out our picks below.

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‘Building’ is a pretty broad theme. There are a lot of games where you build things, after all, and they can be very different. Helpfully, then, I’ve split this list of the 20 best building games on PC into four sections, each covering a sub-category of this big, messy genre.

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What better barrier than the sea? Arriving next month, Prison Architect‘s next expansion is Island Bound, letting you trade out those impractical land-loving fortresses for the sheer simplicity of a big scary rock in the sea. Forget barbed wires and concrete walls, the roaring abyss will prevent even the most rebellious inmate from attempting escape – at least, not until they discover boats.

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Management games have been enjoying a bit of a renaissance in recent years, meaning there are now even better, more efficient ways to direct trains, corral visitors, lay down conveyor belts and profit, profit, profit than ever before. To that end, we’ve put on our builder hats and constructed a list of the best management games you can play on PC in 2020. Whether you want to be a budding city planner, wannabe farm herd or survive against the elements, there’s a game for you below.

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After the blurry blue delights of last month’s Sonic fest, those bundle fiends over at Humble have put together a brand new pack of game goodies for December, this time focusing on Paradox’s best management games to celebrate the early access launch of Surviving the Aftermath. Ironically, Surviving the Aftermath did not, in fact, survive the cut to get into the bundle itself, but Humble’s Paradox management bundle does include the most excellent Surviving Mars, Cities: Skylines and Prison Architect and all their various expansions for under $20.

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Prison Architect will bring an expanded version of its Psych Ward update to PC on November 21st as DLC, following its release on consoles back in distant 2017. Produced by UK studio Double Eleven, who have been working on the game since Paradox bought it from creators Introversion in January, it’s the first proper paid DLC for Prison Architect on PC. What’s more, it’s going to be banged up good and proper with a free content update (whose details are not yet clear), and there’s another expansion on the way in 2020.

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A lot of genres have had a resurgence over the past five years, but none more successfully than management games. There are now more ways to direct trains, lay conveyor belts, coral visitors and profit, profit, profit than you could play in a lifetime. The question is: which of these famous timesinks is worth your time, and which of the whipsmart new hires can compete against the hagard, seen-it-all old dogs?

That’s what this list is for. These are 20 best management games you can play right now on PC, in no particular order, and updated for 2019.

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Paradox Interactive have bought Prison Architect off creators Introversion Software, nabbing the rights and assets while muttering about potentially making new ‘Architect’ games of their own. Introversion say that after over eight years of development, “we’ve taken Prison Architect just about as far as we can” and they’re doing something new. If Paradox, the publishers behind strategy games and build ’em ups from Crusader Kings II to Cities: Skylines, want to give ’em moolah in exchange for something they’re about done with, hey, bonus.

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