TOP 7 New Upcoming City Building Games of 2022 & 2023

by Mike Alexander / Top Lists, Articles / 02 Jan 2022

The city-building genre of video games has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 1964 with the text-based experience The Sumerian Game, created by the first female video game designer: Mabel Addis. This game was designed and developed for mainframe computers, which are the ancestors of our modern PCs.

Many years later, we would get the first full city-building game for modern PC hardware with Will Wright’s SimCity. Fast-forwarding to today, we have nearly endless options for city-building video games, and that luxury is all thanks to these early pioneers. Let’s take a look at what we have just on the horizon with the top 7 new upcoming city-building games of 2022 and 2023.

Laysara: Summit Kingdom

Create several multi-layered mountain-dwelling communities in Laysara: Summit Kingdom by Quite OK Games. When the plains of your home country become uninhabitable, citizens are pushed up into the mountains to try to find a place they can thrive. As the leader of these people, they look up to you to provide cities for each caste, with the less fortunate occupying, the lower parts of the mountain and higher elevations housing the progressively more wealthy. Establish trade routes between these cities and castes to keep your communities thriving in a place where humans were not meant to live. Disaster can strike at any moment, with unplanned events like avalanches wiping away innocent citizens in a rushing blanket of ice. Plan your cities accordingly when Laysara: Summit Kingdom hunkers down on PC in 2022.

Sweet Transit

This unique take on a city-builder is brought to us by Ernestas Norvaisas and features a transportation-focused method of city growth. In Sweet Transit, begin with a single warehouse and a single train to deliver materials from A to B, and as you build up your money reserves and recognition with people in surrounding areas, so too will your humble hamlet grow. Watch tiny villages grow into a bustling metropolitan center of trade and commerce as you expand your interconnected railroad system. Oversee the housing and sustenance of your workers in order to make sure that they have everything they need to stay happy and productive. Bigger cities mean more homes and better supply lines. So start planning your transit empire when Sweet Transit chugs onto PC in 2022.

Farthest Frontier

Play as the resolute leader of a budding society on the very edge of the known world in Farthest Frontier by Crate Entertainment. Take your troupe into the harsh, unforgiving unknown of the wilderness to establish a base you can all call home. Then hunt fish, plant and harvest crops, and gather materials so your people can survive. Survival doesn’t just mean food and water, however, as you will need to be prepared to fight the beasts of the surrounding wilds as well as help citizens who develop sickness and disease within your walls. Build your city from barely standing wooden shacks to impenetrable stone walls to keep out those who want to strip you of all your goods. Hire soldiers to man these walls as your city grows into a kingdom in need of protection. Keep what is yours when Farthest Frontier raises its walls on PC in 2022.

The Settlers

Ubisoft’s 1993 video game The Settlers was one of the first games to combine the city building and real-time strategy genres. That very successful game spawned several sequels, but after an almost decade-long hiatus, they are releasing a new entry to the franchise with the revitalized version of The Settlers. This new version will feature a story campaign as well as a multiplayer mode that will see players face off against each other in stressful RTS battles while managing cities of their own. Built on Ubisoft’s impressive Snowdrop engine, this game is sure to be good-looking, cartoony graphics and all. The Settlers will arrive for PC on March 17th, 2022.

Aztec Empire

Become a leader of the mighty Aztec people in Aztec Empire by developer Play2Chill. Govern this cornerstone of mesoamerican culture by overseeing their religious needs, military power, and economic growth. Make sacrifices to the gods to gain their favor and satisfy the devout citizens of Tenochtitlan. Train battle-hardened warriors who will be prepared to fight any threats that might dare to take you on. Build your city and develop solid economic relations with surrounding villages to ensure a steady stream of supplies to keep your citizens happy and healthy. Become part of history when Aztec Empire arrives for PC on an unspecified date in the future.

The Wandering Village

When the surface of their planet becomes uninhabitable due to the proliferation of toxic spores, a tribe of people takes up shelter on the back of a massive, meandering beast called an Onbu. Build up a settlement on the back of this constantly moving animal so your people can survive the harsh environments it passes through. You only have the space provided by the Onbu’s back, so it is important to be as efficient as possible when planning your villages and supply lines. With fragments of the world that is now lost, research new technology to advance your pursuits. Decide if you will live in symbiosis with the Onbu or be a leech on its life force when The Wandering Village strays onto Xbox One, Series X/S, and PC in 2022.

Gord

Finally, what is perhaps the most interesting of the games on this list is the horror adventure/strategy city-builder Gord. In Gord, you will explore dark, forbidden lands inspired by the terrors of Slavic folklore and lead your people, the “Tribe of Dawn”, to a place where they can hopefully build up a village and survive. Once you have your village, build up defenses to fend off enemy tribes as well as the ghastly horrors that live in the forbidden forests. Go on quests to advance your tribe’s progression and manage their levels of burden to prevent them from going insane. Prepare to face the terrors of the forbidden lands when Gord arrives on PC in 2022.

Mike Alexander

Mike has been playing video games since he was able to hold a controller, having been fascinated by Sonic 2 on his mom’s Sega Genesis. That fascination and passion for the art form has grown exponentially nearly 30 years later, and he doesn’t see that fading away anytime soon.
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