Overview
Game Dev Story is a management sim made and published by Kairosoft in which you run a small game studio. The international version launched on iOS and Android on 9 October 2010, descended from the flip-phone app ゲーム発展途上国 (27 November 2003) and an earlier free PC game. It later reached Nintendo Switch (11 October 2018), PlayStation 4 (11 February 2021), Steam (27 March 2022) and Xbox (15 September 2023).
OtaHub's take
You hire staff, pick a genre and platform for each game, then watch critics score it from 1 to 10; the score affects sales. As the studio grows you can build your own console, change staff jobs and unlock more genres and content.
The iOS version scored 86/100 on Metacritic, was rated 9.0/10 by IGN and 9/10 by Eurogamer, and was nominated for Best Handheld Game at the 2011 Game Developers Choice Awards. On Steam it has about 90% positive reviews across 1,523 reviews (10 October 2026) and costs 110,000 VND in Vietnam. There is no official Vietnamese.
Verdict
Game Dev Story suits players who like compact management sims and the games-industry theme. OtaHub's in-depth article on Kairosoft follows the studio from free PC games to this game and ONE PIECE: Grand Gourmet.
